


Listen to the Silence

by MidnightKaito, SyriaFranz



Series: The Language of Silence [1]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - Canon, Blood and Gore, Blood and Torture, Borderline Personality Disorder, Dark Characterizations, Death, Disabled Character, Dubious Morality, Espionage, Extreme Bloodlust, Graphic Violence, Implied/Referenced Torture, Insanity, Madness, Mask of Sanity, Mental Instability, Minor Character Death, Multi, Murder, POV Multiple, POV Original Character, POV Outsider, Poisonous Friends, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Tenth Generation Guardians, Protectiveness, Psychopathology & Sociopathy, References to A LOT of things, Secrets, Supernatural Elements, The Masquerade, The Underworld and its Secrets, Violence, mute character, possessive Reborn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-03-08 12:02:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3208442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightKaito/pseuds/MidnightKaito, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SyriaFranz/pseuds/SyriaFranz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every artist has their own way to express themselves in art; their own language. Each of the colours in a painting says something or tells a story. Silence is needed to both create and understand those colours, but sometimes the story told in the colours should never be told.</p><hr/>
<p>or</p><hr/>
<p>Kimura Nairi's first meeting with the Vongola Famiglia, her first few peeks into their world, and how secrets fester in silence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Delivery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Beginnings are always messy." ~John Galsworthy
> 
> 'Ugh... This is so confusing! Uncle, why can't you draw better than this?!' 
> 
> –Do you know a place called Vongola mansion?-
> 
> It was supposed to be a normal, everyday delivery of a painting for a client...So why are people running away every time she asked for directions?

_Story Cover: Nairi Running_

* * *

 

**Hello everyone! I am just a newbie, either ff.net or AO3. This account just for alternative for my other reader who can't open ff.net**

**I'm not alone here, I have a friend/beta here in AO3. She's the best one for sure.**

**Please enjoy the story ^^**

**Disclaimer: I don't OWN KHR! Just the OC**

**Warnings: Swearing and Cursing**

* * *

**Legend:**

-Blah- **:** Written word

_'Blah'_ **:** _Thoughts_

"Blah" **:** Talking

**-~-~-~-**   **:**   _Flashback (beginning and end)_

* * *

**Silence 1: A Delivery**

* * *

_That day was a beautiful day; peaceful and sunny, it gave little sign that what would follow would be a living nightmare. It was the weekend, the time when everyone spent their time with family; playing, talking, and laughing together. Nothing can replace that moment. Not even the dark days to follow_

_In a red sedan, there sat_ _a_ _little Asian girl in the back seat. She was looking out of the car window with large shiny eyes and a big grin on her face. She hadn't stopped fidgeting since she left her house with her parents. Today was the most exciting day in her life, because she was going to an amusement park with her mom and dad!_

_In the front passenger seat, a woman sat, she was about fifty-year-old. Turning her head to back seat to face her daughter she spoke with an excited tone, "Dear, don't you excited? We will have so much fun today!" The girl faced her mother and nodded her head fast as she could, a sign of her feelings. The woman giggled at her daughter's reaction then returned to face forward._

_Some minutes passed until the car pulled up in parking lot. The girl jumped out of the car and ran to the front gate. She couldn't wait to ride the all the rides and see all the attractions in there. Her parents had returned from the ticket booth with tickets in hand. When they got in, the girl's eyes were sparkling. She pulled her dad's and mom's hand to a ride with her. They took the mini jet coaster, then the spinning teapot, followed by the doll castle, flying swing, and many more. They also had delicious lunch and bought some candies. It was the best day ever for the family._

_As the evening came closer and the sun started setting, the sky turned into a calming orange color. The family decided to take one last ride before they went home, The Whirlwind. They enjoyed the sunset at the top of The Whirlwind in peace as they started at the sky in awe. The girl never took her eyes off from the setting sun and with awe in her eyes she took in the scenery until the sun set below the horizon. Finally the ride was over; the girl's eyes drooped as she got sleepier, so her mother decided to carry her. Her gaze became blurry then her eyes closed, brought her to her land of dreams._

_That was the last day she remembered seeing her parents._

* * *

_**-Downtown Palermo /11 AM/ October 11th /Palermo/Sicily/Italy-** _

* * *

Autumn had come in Sicily causing a nice afternoon weather, combined with the shifting colours that the leaves of the trees exhibited, it was set to be a very beautiful day. A girl in a white long sleeve jacket, with a pen poking out of the pocket, and black pants was standing at the middle of downtown Sicily staring at a piece of paper in her hand, hanging on her neck was a small note pad. She narrowed her eyes at the piece of paper in her hand. It was a map drawn by her uncle; unfortunately every time she tried to read the map she got more and more confused and thus lost. Very lost.

' _Ugh... This is so confusing! Uncle, why can't you draw better than this?!_ ' the girl thought while taking a deep breath. Next to her there was a large rectangular object warped in brown paper warpping and rope on both sides, as to enable her to carry it like a backpack. The raven-haired girl had to deliver the package to somewhere that she even didn't know the exact location of.

Luckily, she had somehow been able to make it into the middle of downtown Sicily. That would enable her to ask the people who more familiar with the area for direction. She lifted the package onto her shoulders and walked around the Downtown Sicily.

After walking around for a few minutes she spotted a bakery and left the painting in front, well within her line of sight, and went in. ' _Well, it_ is _time for lunch_.' She nodded to herself and chose some bread, not forgetting to get some for her uncle too, and went to cashier to pay. She gave the cashier her money and as she took the bread had a thought.  _'Why not? Maybe he knows where the place is?'_

Just before she left she got the cashier's attention and opened her notebook and then proceeded to write in it. –Do you know a place called Vongola mansion?-. She turned the notepad towards the cashier to allow him to read it. As the cashier proceeded to read the note his face slowly but surely turned paled. He hurriedly shook his head as a sign of 'no' which made the girl raised her eyebrows at the odd reaction. Feeling like the cashier knew something but wouldn't tell anything to her, she wrote out a thank you and bowed to the cashier then went out of the bakery.

Picking up the painting and putting it back onto her back after shoving some bread into her mouth, the girl who looked to be in her early 20s walked into the near empty street. It was near lunch time so it was no wonder that the streets were nearly empty, almost everyone was preparing to head home for a siesta. As such she had to wait awhile to find a chance to ask some pedestrian about directions. Funnily enough when she showed the same note that she wrote at the bakery to show the cashier, it had the same result. Almost everyone who she asked had same reaction as the cashier or a worst one. Some would just have their face lose all colour and shake their head rapidly, others would stutter, shake, and then run, some of them even ran away right after they read the note.

' _What's wrong with people today? I was_ just _asking for direction. Why did they have to run away like that? How rude,_ ' she pouted at the last pedestrian who had run away after reading her note. She put her hands on her waist and tapped her feet while her eyes closed. ' _How_ did _this happen to me again?_ '

**-~-~-~-**

_**-Nairi's Shop/8AM – 9AM/ September 12th/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-** _

**-~-~-~-**

_Somewhere in Northern Sicily, there was an art shop where people can buy anything they needed for any art activity. It also had many souvenirs and paintings that all was made by hand. The store also allowed you to order a painting in various sizes, or even get a custom one made. The staff and the owner will happily accept the order and delivery it for you._

_In the shop lived a girl named Kimura Nairi, or Nairi Kimura as she was in Italy, and her uncle. She was 21 years old and as of right now she was lying her upper body down on the table lazily looking ready to take a siesta, though it was still early in the morning. '_ Ah~… Today really has good weather to sleep in, _' she though with her eyes closed. Her white haired uncle had gone to buy some ingredients for lunch and dinner as their fridge was empty. '_ What will uncle cook for today? Cream soup or miso soup? Hehe… I hope it will be cream soup. _' She was wondering in her though with a smile on her face and drool coming out of her mouth slightly._

_Suddenly the bell at the door rang; Nairi hurriedly sat up and straighten her back. She then saw a handsome young man with blonde hair walk into the shop, followed by two other men in black suit. One of the men in black had glasses on his face and the other was bald. Her eyes widened and filled with panic_ 'Mafia?!'  _She quickly turned around and hid under the table before the men could see her which didn't go unnoticed by the blonde._  'Uncle, what did you do?!'

_Shaking she huddled herself under the desk and made herself as small as she possibly could '_ Those men are wearing black suits! Huwa~… Are they in mafia?!'  _She thought as her eyes closed tightly and her body shivered like crazy due to the fear._ 'No, gotta stay clam! They must be in mafia! Huwa~… They'll kill me! Uncle please come back soon, hurry!'  _Her eyes widen at the sound of footsteps that came closer to her hiding spot and then stopped suddenly. Her heart beat faster; it felt like would burst out her chest._

" _Excuse me," the blonde man suddenly popped his head in front of her and made Nairi silently freak out. She automatically put her hands above her head and her murmured various words but no sound came out._

" _Ah! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," hearing the blonde's voice she stopped her murmuring and stared at the blonde in silent fear. It was the blonde who broke the silence, "Um… Can I meet with the owner of the shop owner? I need to make an order for a painting." Seeing that the blonde meant her no harm she slowly got out from under the table, grabbed her notebook and a pen, and then wrote on it._

_-Sorry for my attitude just now. My uncle is out, so I was the one put in charge until he comes back.- She showed the note to the blonde while she was bowing down to him in apology. Her body still shivering from her previous scare, but it wasn't as bad as before._

_The man in fur hooded jacket read the note and smiled at the girl. "It's okay. I also apologize for scaring you back there. So… Your uncle owns this place?" the man asked. She answered with a nod and pulled her notepad back and then wrote again._

_-May I know what kind of painting you want, Signore? - The note said._

" _Oh! Can you please make a custom painting of my little bro and his friend? Here's the photo of them. It's for his birthday, and a surprise present and it must_ absolutely _be a_ _ **surprise**_ _. So, please don't tell them that it was me who sent it; I want to be the one to tell him. Also please make it big, not too big though because we will be hanging it on the hallway wall. So about 107 x 142cm?" The man said with big grin on his face. Nairi blinked and internally thought_ 'Not too big?! That's one of the bigger sizes!'  _Outwardly_   _she nodded her head to signal that she understood the request, even if she was wondering how big the place was for a painting of_ that _size. She wrote on her notepad again and showed it._

_-May I know where it should be delivered? And I suppose that I won't need to put a name on the package. But for the store record who is the painting on behalf of?-_

" _Ah! Sorry, deliver the painting to Vongola Mansion. I'm Dino by the way. Now, how much will the painting cost?" She thought for a second then wrote on her notepad._

_-I'll discuss it with my uncle first. You can pay when the painting is done and delivered to Vongola mansion. Just leave your contact information-_

" _Really? Thank you very much!" Dino then proceeded to pull out a business card and hand it to her. He then waved a good-bye and walked out of the shop._

**-~-~-~-**

She took a long deep breath remembering her rather large mistake that time for not asking for a more detailed address. ' _How come I was such an air-head that day? At least we got to eat cream soup as dinner that day._ ' She thought happily while continuing on her way, still trying to find Vongola Mansion. Sometime ago she asked to a taxi driver and though the man paled a bit he still told her the way that was the most efficient to get to the mansion by walking.

' _Come to think of it, was that Dino guy a CEO or some kind of rich guy? Uncle even gave him a really high price for the painting. Hmm… Maybe yes, maybe not._ ' she shrugged her shoulders. Then she realized, that the more she walked down to this street the less and less pedestrians walked by...almost as if they were afraid of the area or avoided it. Also there weren't any building on either side of the road. ' _Did I make a wrong turn or something? I'm sure I went the right way, but… never mind. I'll just continue to follow this road._ '

After some hours later, she finally stopped moving in front of a large gate with a big symbol in the center of it. Her jaw dropped and her eyes almost fell out of its sockets when she saw the mansion. In her shock she forgot her tiredness.

' _HOLY SHIT! Since when was there a mansion this big with a gate this huge in_ _ **Sicily**_ _!? I don't even recognize it from anywhere!_ ' she thought in shocked awe. Only one thought ran in her mind, ' _Whoever owns this mansion, he or she must be the head of a fucking big international company!'_

Shaking herself from her stupor she stared at the gate in contemplation  _'Now, how the_ _ **hell**_ _am I going to get in?'_ Fortunately or unfortunately, it was at that moment that the gate decided to open to her great surprise. Unsure if she should go in or not, she turned her head to the left and the right looking for anything suspicious. After that she walked through the gated slowly. Very slowly.

Once through the gates she faced a long road to the main door of the mansion that was lined with trees on either side. She could only smile when she saw the road in front of her.  _'Finally! I found it!'_  However she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched or the fact that the area was deserted except for this mansion for a good 10 km2 on either side. Whereas her mind was thinking it was just mansion and nothing creepy was going on, her instincts were a different story. They just plain wanted to run away screaming ' _Breathe Nairi! It's just a big mansion. Speaking of, just how big is this mansion?! Why do they need another long road that heads to the door?! I will never understand what a rich people._ ' She took a deep breath and stepped through the threshold fully, as she stepped in her legs kept moving forward automatically as her eyes were given a fascinating show by the beauty of the garden on either side of her. Everything in it was neatly arranged and clean. It's really different from the gardens in the middle of the city.

She was so stunned at the beauty of the garden. She didn't even realize that she had arrived at the main door. In the end she stumbled onto the porch, tripping on the step and ended up kissing the floor. She stayed in that position for some time and then slowly stood while rubbing her sore nose. ' _Itai… the first time I set foot here, and I'm already got bad luck… Akh! The painting!_ ' she put down the painting on her back and double checked it, to make sure none of the parts of the painting had broken due to her fall.

Done checking the painting, she lifted it up again to her shoulders and walked to the door. She then proceeded to stare, the take a deep breath and knock on the door. She waited for some time before it was opened by a maid. "Yes?" the maid asked. She quickly opened her notebook to write what she wants to say.

– Delivery for Vongola. – She showed it to the maid.

"Huh? I am sorry miss but our master didn't tell us anything about a delivery." The maid replied. ' _Hum… How should I tell her? I is a birthday present so it should be a surprise._ ' After thinking for some time she wrote again on her note.

– It's really important. So, please at least let me meet Signore Vongola. –

The maid read the note with suspiciously and shook her head, "I still can't let you in, I'm sorry." The maid said it with a stern tone. Disappointed at the result of her negotiation, she clapped her hands together and bowed down to the maid hoping a second time would work, pleading to the maid while still bowed to let her meet whoever the man the painting was for.

The maid's patience got thinner each time Nairi begged or pleaded. Nairi bowed down one last time and that was the last of the maid's patience. The maid shoved Nairi until she fell on her butt then shout, "GO AWAY! How many times will I have to tell you? I will not let you in!" the maid said in a very rude tone.

When the maid about to close the door. A voice of a young man was heard from behind the maid, "What's going on here, Vera?" the maid in front of her immediately bowed down to the young man with anti-gravity brown hair that stepped out from behind the door.

"I'm sorry for shouting master, but this suspicious lady insisted to meet you even if I told her that she can't." the maid explained. The brunette looked at the maid then at Nairi who was checking the painting. The brunette smiled at the girl then kneeled down. When Nairi turned around, she was startled at the young man who was kneeling down in front of her. "Are you okay?" the young man asked. She hurriedly took her notebook and wrote.

– I'm okay. Are you Signore Vongola? – She stood up and showed the note with blush on her face. The brunette stood up and read the note with a smile on his face, "Yes, I am the Vongola Decimo. It will be more comfortable if we talk at my office. Vera please let her in." he said to the maid.

"But… Master," The maid tried to discourage her master, but was unable to because of the look her master gave her, "very well master." With that the maid went back to work with a tint of pink on her cheeks.

"Shall we go?" the brunette invited Nairi. On the way to the brunette's office Nairi's eyes became shinny. She was totally stunned at by the grandeur of the mansion. Her head couldn't stop turning left and right to look at every detail of the decorations. Sometimes the brunette asked if he may be able to help her carry the painting on her back but was always rejected with a shake of the head and smile from her.

After some confusing turns, they were finally able to arrive at their destination. The brunette opened the door to his office and let her in to his office first. She walked through the mahogany door careful not to break the painting. Then the brunette followed her in.

She sweat dropped at the scenery in front of her. Thousands of piles of paperwork were surrounding a work table. ' _Is this what having so much money is like?! A lot of paperwork?_ ' Nairi thought as she put the painting down.

"Haha… I'm sorry for this and my maid back there. Let me introduce myself, my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. It's pleasure to meet you." The brunette called Sawada Tsunayoshi said with a very friendly tone without losing his smile. ' _Eh? Japanese name? wasn't he… um… not my business._ ' The Japanese name awoke her from her shocked state. She quickly wrote down her introduction on the notepad.

– It's okay, my name is Kimura Nairi. It's my honor to meet you Sawada-san. – She showed the not to Tsuna while she was bowing respectfully so he couldn't see her blushing face.

"What brings you here, Kimura-san?" Tsuna asked with a serious tone. ' _He's getting serious._ ' Nairi though with her pen moved on the notebook.

– I come to give Vongola a special delivery. –

"May I know what the delivery was and who sent this to me?" Tsuna asked again without took off his gaze from the raven haired girl in front of him.

– I can't tell you the answer to either– She explained through the note in front of her face. It's really hard for Tsuna to tell if she lying or not. Even his hyper intuition didn't give him any concrete signal.

' _Should I let her go?_ ' Tsuna asked inwardly. His concentration was broken when he saw the girl was starting to write something else her notepad. A few seconds later she showed the note that made his jaw almost dropped.

– Sawada-san, why did you name your company as 'Vongola'? Doesn't that mean 'clam' in English? Clam should be eaten, not used for business. – That's what was written on the note when she showed it to him. He clenched his hand to push down the urge to face palm.  _'So she's not part of the Mafia, but then what's that package for?'_  He concluded to himself mentally while he tried to outwardly keep his business smile on his face. He couldn't show his emotions to this stranger. Reborn would kill him if he found out.

A knock on the door was heard which made Tsuna sighed in relief. "Come in." said Tsuna as he gave permission to enter. From behind the door, a butler bowed his head and said, "There is someone who wants to meet you sir." The butler then shifted to allow the guest to enter and meet his master.

"Yo little bro! How are you?" Dino greeted to Tsuna. He walked into the office tripped on his own foot. It didn't however take him a long time stand back up with an awkward smile on his face. Nairi tried so hard to stifle a laugh at Dino's clumsiness. As for Tsuna, you could see the corner of his mouth twitching up into a smile.

"Is there something wrong Tsuna? Who is that girl?" Dino asked Tsuna as he pointed Nairi out. ' _Hoo… What a nice play Sir Dino._ ' Nairi thought. She bowed her head a little to Dino in acknowledgement.

"Um… Dino-san, everything is okay. As for this girl, she is just a delivery girl." Tsuna explained.

"I see. Well, why don't you let her go? You've got the object that you wanted, right?"

"Yes but Dino-nii…" before Tsuna could finish his sentence, Dino cut him off.

"Come on Tsuna, don't be so harsh like that," then Dino walked Tsuna to his chair. He put his hand on Tsuna's shoulder and whispered to him, "If something bad happens I know where to find this girl. Alright?" Tsuna eyed Dino with Are-you-sure look but Dino gave him an Of-course look. With a little encouragement from Dino, Tsuna faced the girl again. "Kimura-san, sorry to have held you up for so long. Thank you for your good work." He said with a smile on his lips as he gave her his thanks. Nairi also smiled and gave a bow as a farewell.

Her hand touched the handle of the door, but then she paused and pulled it back. She began to write on her notepad once more. When she finished, she tore the paper, fold it, and gave it to Tsuna. After that, she hurriedly walked to through the door and left.

Nairi closed the door behind her and sighed, then looked to her left and then to her right. ' _The exit should be… this way_ ' she took the right path. Unknown to her, there was dark figure watching every movement she made with his piercing black eyes and a grin on his face.

* * *

**-Vongola HQ/12 PM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-**

* * *

"Dino-nii! Why did you cut me off? That girl brought something here that I even don't know the contents of or who the sender is." Tsuna said in panicked tone with a slight tremble to his voice. He was just imagining what Reborn would do to him if he found out.

"It's okay Tsuna. I told that I would take responsibility, didn't I?" Dino said with a big grin on his face.

"Even though you say that, if Reborn finds out, he'll kill me" Tsuna said resignedly.

"Yes, Dame-Tsuna. You're going to die"

"HIIEE!" Tsuna shrieked out in fight. Spinning around towards the door he spotted a figure which made him pale. There leaning on the door frame in his trademark suit and fedora was Reborn in his adult form, a dark amused glint present in his coal colored eyes. He raised a brow at his student

"You've got a lot of explain to do Dame-Tsuna. First, you not only let a suspicious person into the mansion but you let said person escape. Second, you tried to hide it from me. And lastly, you didn't escort the lady out and let her wander on her own in a place she doesn't have any experience in." Reborn said with his Leon in gun form pointed to his ex-student's head.

"Eh? What? Akh! I forgot to lead her out of mansion!" Tsuna shouted in shock. With that he ran out of his office.

"Dame as always." Reborn said with a smirk.

"Reborn, you lead her out, didn't you?" Dino asked worriedly.

"Nope." With that answer from Reborn, Dino's face paled and hurriedly ran after Tsuna. ' _Looks like there will be a new member of Famiglia._ ' Reborn thought as he stepped out of the office and closed the door behind.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**Sychi: That's it! What do you think? Well, it's all thanks my super perfectionist beta-reader. Oh! I should remind you that this re-written version.**

**Mind to review?**


	2. Opened Windows and Closed Doors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order." ~Jean-Luc Godard
> 
> -...Are that Dino and Vongola guys CEOs or owners of big companies?...-
> 
> "Good. Let's start the meeting, Gokudera,"
> 
> All the players are slowly gathering. The stage is nearly set, and the game ready to begin...Now, who will move first?

**Sychi: Yo minna! Sorry for the late update. Haha… Please don't kill me. I already had two devils by my side and it was enough. Thanks to Kaito-san; my beta, and my friend Vi-san; my best friend from my school who help me correct my mistakes.**

**Kaito: -sighs- I really have nothing…but I promised Sychi the Dame One that I'd say something…This is me saying something. Oh, and Sychi –smiles- I want those references read over and memorized by the due date I gave you. –smiles- Afterwards maybe I can introduce you to a..friend..yes let's go with that. A friend of mine. –smiles- And you readers. Yes you. I expect a shit ton of reviews on this chapter. You cannot believe the effort it took to get this chapter edited. No seriously. –glares at Sychi- Now if you excuse me I have chapter 3 to edit…**

**Sychi: Um… Hehehe… Roger that Kaito-san! #sweats. Well, Enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from KHR, also KHR was belongs to Akira Amano. I just borrow the characters.**

* * *

**Legend:**

-Blah- **:** Written word

 _'Blah'_ **:** _Thoughts_

"Blah" **:** Talking

 **-~-~-~-**   **:**   _Flashback (beginning and end)_

* * *

**Silence 2: Opened Windows and Closed Doors**

* * *

_The Mafia; a hidden society which is feared throughout the world, a blood soaked entity which lurks in the seedy underbelly of polite society. It is the darker side of human society and nature given form, in what is known as The Underworld. This blood soaked, dark and violent society filled with secrets, rules and its own moral code is the world which those who lie in shadows lurk, monsters among monsters, enjoying the fear, awe, destruction and chaos that they cause...and at the top of this monster filled society where the weak die and the strong survive, where one moment of weakness can cause you to be devoured, where not all is as it seems, where secrets and lies are common and truth is as elusive as a creature of myth, where loyalties can shift at the drop of a hat, where trust is considered to be only for the weak and naive, where debts are paid in blood and death and where every moment could be the last is a Famiglia that crawled its way to the very top, to be the monster that was feared by all monsters…Its name? The Vongola Famiglia…_

_This Famiglia is known for having the bloodiest, most violent and most death filled history within the entire existence of the Mafia. It is whispered in the winds and shadowed alleys that the Vongola is_ _**old** _ _…very old…the oldest Famiglia in the entire existence of the Mafia and the Underworld. It is said in soft voices hidden from prying eyes and ears that this was the Famiglia that started it all, the Famiglia that saw the first ever building blocks of the Underworld's foundations be lain, that saw the rise of the Mafia when it was just but a babe._

_The Vongola Famiglia's connections are feared and revered by all. They want the power, money, awe, connection, fear and respect that come inherent with being part of the Vongola or being its ally…and at the very top of it all is the Vongola Don, the Capo Di Tutti Capi, the Boss of the Bosses…and his name? Sawada Tsunayoshi…the most feared boss within The Underworld; the one who battles with his firsts held as if in prayer…Vongola Decimo_

_The Decimo of Vongola is feared not because of his ruthlessness or his ability to manipulate. No, Vongola Decimo is held in fear filled awe due to one simple fact…He had the ability to control the twisted, blood thirsty, malicious, monsters who he called his Guardians. Each was a monster among monsters among monsters; the dark, evil creatures which devoured the most feared of monsters. Each had a bloodlust that had_ _**never** _ _been seen before except in the darkest and most dangerous of the Acrobaleno…and even_ _**he** _ _bowed his head to Vongola Decimo. It was this simple fact. The fact that Sawada Tsunayoshi could control, tame and heel these withering, malicious, blood thirsty monsters, that they actually listened, that these monsters were_ _**intensely** _ _possessive and protective of him and that he gathered more and more of them as the day passed, whether these monsters were allies or members of his family, that propelled Vongola Decimo as the most feared within the Mafia…_

 _And god forbid anything should happen to Sawada Tsunayoshi…for if_ _**anything** _ _did happen, the repercussions from those malicious, blood thirsty, monstrous strays that he'd gathered to him would shake both the Underworld and the world above it…_

* * *

_**-Vongola HQ/12:10 PM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-** _

* * *

The mahogany doors gave a soft click as they shut behind him, shortly after the silence that followed Reborn made sure that Tsuna and Dino out of hearing range. After he sure no one could hear him, the gun in his hand suddenly became a phone. He pressed the call button and waited until someone from another side answered the call.

"…"

"Pronto, this is Reborn. Gather all the Guardians at Tsuna's office."

"…"

"He's distracted."

"…"

"No, the distraction will take most of his time."

"..."

"He won't."

"..." before the other could finish his sentence, Reborn cut him off.

"Just get over here and bring the others."

"..." the other tried to argue but once again cut off by Reborn.

"No, just get over here," with that the phone disappeared as Leon crawled to his favorite spot onto Reborn's fedora.

* * *

_**-Vongola HQ/12:10PM – 12: 30PM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-** _

* * *

A figure with anti-gravity brown hair ran along the hallway in the east corridor while his eyes were searching. Thanks to Reborn's tor- tutor now he didn't get tired easily. ' _Where is she?_ ' he though as he kept running.

At the opposite corridor, a blonde man in fur hooded jacket helped the brunette to search as well. He kept checking the rooms one by one until he arrived at the end of corridor. His hands ruffled his dirty blonde hair in frustration. He asked some maids who happened to be passing by on his mad dash down the corridor, but most of the answers were disappointing.

"Ha… Where else should I look for?" sighing he walked down the hall.

"Dino-nii!" a shout from behind him made his head snapped to his back. His eyes met with the figure of his little brother who ran up to him. "How was it? Do you find her?" Dino's face showed disappointment and shook his head. Seeing Dino's reaction, Tsuna pinched the bridge of his nose; trying to calm himself. "Reborn will kill me for sure."

Dino patted his little brother's back, "Don't be depressed Tsuna, we will found her. Let's search once again," he said with hope to cheer him up. With smile on his face, Tsuna nodded his head with enthusiasm. With a renewed spirit they walked away to search for her once again.

Whether accidental or not or maybe luck in the middle of the search, they both came across Vera -the harsh maid who welcomed Nairi- at the same time. Tsuna immediately asked her, "Vera, did you by any chance see the delivery girl that you met this morning?"

The asked maid raised her eyebrows in confusion, "I'm sure I saw her just a moment ago."

In an instant, both young men's ears perked up. "Where is she now?" the main called Vera startled at both man who suddenly raised their voices, which had slightly hysterical notes to them.

Without questioning her employer and his older brother figure, the maid pointed her finger towards the northern wing of the mansion, "I saw her wandering around north hallway just now," she said while keeping her cool. Right after they got the answer their needed for long search, they sprinted off to north hallway in full speed before certain hitman kill both of them.

* * *

_**-Vongola HQ/12:15PM – 1:40PM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-** _

* * *

"Is everyone here?" Reborn asked. All the guardians had gathered at Tsuna's office, including Hibari and Mukuro, who rarely showed up or were even in the same room together. They gathered to discuss about an event which will be held within the mansion in 3 days.

"Good. Let's start the meeting, Gokudera," Reborn commanded.

Gokudera stood up from his seat with some papers in his hand. "Thank you Reborn-san. We better finish this meeting before Juudaime comes back. Juudaime's birthday will be held in 3 days, in that party will be all Alliance Famiglias. But it is not only them; Neutral Famiglias will also make an appearance, that's what we worry have to about. That's why we will divide some certain tasks among us," he explained and look to other guardians. "First, you! Baseball-freak. You will take care of the area of Sicily," his green eyes connected with Yamamoto in a sharp stare.

"Hahaha… Sound like fun," Yamamoto laughed, his eyes closed in supposed mirth which made Gokudera glare at him. Yamamoto just kept smiling as he laughed, though there was a hint of  _something_  off about it, a slight demented insanity that peaked through his silted eyes. It caused Gokudera to nod to himself and turn to Hibari.

"You, bastard! You will take care of security and information outside of Sicily," he pointed his finger to the Cloud Guardian.

"Hn."

"Next you. damn pineapple head! You will take care of inside the inside; investigate people in the Famiglia, the Alliance Famiglias and the Neutral Famiglias," he moved his finger to point at Mukuro, who was smiling with what looked to be his trademark smile. However, a closer glance from those who knew him well could see the bloodlust and insanity that lurked beneath the surface of the smile. A bloodlust that Gokudera knew would not let a single soul lay a hand on Tsuna. That single fact was enough, enough to assure the storm of the mist's loyalty and determination to not allow harm to be caused to their sky.

He lowered his hand as he finished the thought and continued, "Woman, you will be in charge of the information, which will reach the outside, which means you'll deal with the media and the authorities." He eyed the only female guardian in the room. Chrome nodded as a response a glint of determination burning in her eyes.

"Turf-top will take care of insuring that the civilians don't get in the way and that the medical staff is ready for anything. And I mean  **anything**. Last, Stupid-cow, you will take care of small fries and the kids under 18," he continued, his eyes never leaving the paper in his hand.

"Yosh, leave it to me."

"I hate brats. How about you? What will you do?" Lambo said who was sat beside to Ryohei.

"Reborn-san and I will be distracting and guarding Juudaime. We will also organize the party."

"What?! Just that?! You gave me a really difficult task but yourself an easy one! That's not fair!" Lambo complained.

"Don't complain Ahoshi! As if I have an easy task. I have to arrange guest list, the seating arrangements, the decoration at the hall, appetizers, main courses, dessert, shows, etc. How could you say those preparation was an easy task? Easy tasks my ass. I dare you to change tasks with me ahoshi!" he yelled but so loud to Lambo.

"Then, I will dare you to switch places with me to investigate those brats, octopus-head!" Lambo challenged back.

"Hahaha…. Calm down both of you. Besides we don't have time for this argument," Yamamoto said as he tried to calm both sides.

"Yamamoto was right. Stop acting like kids,  _both_  of you," Ryohei continued. Hearing such sentence come out from Ryohei mouth, both debaters shut up in shame.

"Hmph. Now for the last task. Chrome, you could use the event being a conference as an excuse to the media. Make sure they don't find out anything about what will occur in three days time,  _ **especially**_ the police. Got it?" there was a hint of dark malice in Reborn's voice as he spoke. Chrome nodded at Reborn, choosing to ignore the threat. "Okay, Dismissed." At the end of the sentence, all guardians went out of the office before their beloved boss comes back.

* * *

_**-Vongola HQ/12:15PM – 1:40PM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-** _

* * *

Somewhere at north sector, a raven haired girl was wondering around without clue. She'd been wandering the halls lost since she left the office of signor Vongola, besides even if she knew the way out her curiosity to explore the mansion took more priority than the feeling of in her heart to go back the way she came and run as far as she could. She kept walking and walking along the hall while admiring the beauty of the mansion. She didn't want to miss this rare chance to see this beyond splendid mansion; it may be the only chance in her life to actually explore such a place.

' _Wow… This mansion sure is big and hm… what other word would suit this mansion? Beautiful? Astonishing? Hm…_ ' she thought deep with hand cupping her chin until she arrived at a row of beautiful large paintings on the walls. The paintings were so detailed and the play of the colors upon the aged, yet pristine canvas was not a cheap trick of an amateur but the work of a master. They truly are masterpieces. Judging from paint used in the paintings, the age of the artworks was old. All 10 were portraits of different groups with 7 people per painting, except for the last which looked to be the most recent, it had 8 people. The first painting was a portrait of a spiky blonde man, with black cloak around his shoulder. ' _Is it just me or does this man look similar to Signore Vongola but with a different hair color? Nah… maybe the previous head of the company?_ ' she moved to the next painting.

This time her jaw almost drops. ' _Pink tako!?_ ' even one of her eyes twitched when she saw the man in the painting next to the blond, standing on his right side. Moving on the next person, Nairi saw an ordinary Japanese man with big grin on his face. The man was wearing Japanese traditional priest clothes, just like  _onmyouji_  complete with the hat. ' _Ee… Exorcist? Weird company, they even hired an exorcist._ '

Next was a teen with green neon hair. The teen had a white shirt on and one of his eyes closed which make him look lazy or sleepy. ' _Brat… Um… No, I will go with broccoli prince._ ' She went ahead with snicker on her face.

Next one was a priest in a black robe. She stopped to observe, then looked back to the painting of exorcist. ' _Why did they need a priest when they already had an exorcist? Hm... not my business._ ' Ignoring it, she moved on.

The next person within the portrait made her speechless. It was a painting of a French man in a trench coat. At his side there was a pair of handcuffs. ' _Mr. Detective, they really got their security covered. A corruption case?_ ' she rolled her eyes.

She regretted moving onto the next person. In front of her was an aristocrat from France with blue hair and a malicious glint in his eyes. ' _What the… Seriously? Is that a pineapple or watermelon… er… hairstyle?_ ' she thought with wide eyes and dropped jaw. ' _Ugh… why does this mansion have so many weirdoes?_ ' she shook her head while pinching the bridge of her nose.

Suddenly, her ears caught a faint sound but she saw nothing. Shrugging it off, she turned to right to continue her exploration. She walked faster to pass the hallway, however unknown to her; it was Tsuna and Dino who had made the sound as they were looking for her. They both arrived at the hallway where the paintings were placed but didn't find Nairi, which ended in them running once more to continue searching.  _'I guess there's nothing else to see. Time to go back,_ ' Nairi thought. She began to make her way to the main entrance, turned to the left, then to the right, then another left turn and a straight line; finally she arrived at the front entrance. Just before her hand can open the door, she heard the sound of stomping feet. She turned her head to the way the sound came from confused. Her eyes met unexpected view of nothing. Shrugging Nairi walked to the doorknob and walk out; missing the sight of two grown men dashing pass the previously opened door with incredible speed… just missing the tell-tale sound of the door closing…

* * *

_**-North Palermo /2:00PM – 4:00PM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-** _

* * *

Nairi was walking happily on her away back to the shop. A smile was on her face due to the simple pleasure she took in knowing that she was done her job for the day. There were also many events that occurred today that stuck in her mind and really made her curious. First the reaction of each person she had asked about Vongola mansion. ' _Why were their reactions like that? Is it because my face was ugly? Well, whatever… I don't care._ ' she thought as she walked. The second was the mansion. Her body shivered as she remembered the feeling that oozed from the area; the feeling of being watched. ' _Maybe I'm becoming paranoid? Or is it because of the cold? The wind was rather cold today. Hah… maybe I should have a cup of hot chocolate when I get back..._ '

Nairi just had arrived in front of Downtown Park. She liked to go there in the evenings shortly after the siesta with her sketchbook in her hand. She looked at her watch and her eyes widen immediately. ' _I better hurry, or else Uncle's bread won't be as good. I hope he likes them,_ ' she thought as she made a dash towards the exit and to the shop where she lived.

Nairi panted for breath when she arrived at the shop, she had made it just in time. She opened the entrance of the shop and hoped to see her uncle at the cashier desk. Unfortunately, she didn't see him, ' _Huh? Where's uncle? He should be here by now. Hm… Maybe he's in bathroom?_ ' she walked to the second floor to find her uncle.

To her disappointment, she didn't find him anywhere on the second floor or even a hint of his presence in the shop. ' _That's weird… Oh! Maybe he had another delivery. I'll just wait for him then,_ ' she though and sat down on the cashier's chair. As she sat down, the door bell was ringing. There at the door was her uncle with his white hair.

"Nairi, you're back. Welcome home," her uncle greeted her with smile. She stood up and showed her uncle a note. – Welcome home too uncle. – The white haired man walked to the desk and pulled another chair to sit beside his niece.

She sat back and wrote another note for her uncle, – Want some bread, Uncle? – She showed him a note while her hand lifted a bag of bread to show it to him. Her uncle laughed a little, "Sure, I'll go make some tea to go with the bread," she nodded as her uncle went to kitchen. A few minutes later, he came out from the kitchen with two cups of tea and a tea pot on a tray.

"So… How was today's adventure?" he asked. His niece gave him a pout as answer, which only to make him smile in fond amusement even more. "I guess it didn't go so well then." Nairi wrote again and flipped the notebook to her uncle, – It was your fault. Your map was so terrible. I had to ask a lot of pedestrian for directions, rude ones at that. Their reactions were both odd and rude, especially the one who ran away RIGHT after he read my note. Are people today really that rude? –

Her uncle just kept the same smile at the story his niece had written. He patted his niece's head and said, "Hm… Sorry then. I'm not really good drawing. Even as basic as a map, I can't help it."

She wrote again but this time it took a little bit longer, – Fine, I forgive you. I should teach you a lesson for drawing such a bad map though. Oh! I just remembered. Are that Dino and Vongola guys CEOs or owners of big companies?  _Signore_  Vongola had a mansion which was so fucking huge. Since when was there such a big mansion there! Even I didn't even know about it and I've lived in Italy, in this shop, for a long time! –

Her uncle still had the same smile on his face while he enjoyed his tea. "That side of you reminds me of an old friend of mine, Nairi? But, no, thank you. As for those guys? I don't even know them. So… maybe yes, they are. One more thing…" the man took her pen and streaked a straight line on the word 'fucking' written on her notepad, "Language," he smiled. She could only grin cheekily and nod her head at her uncle.

Nairi was so involved in the conversation with her uncle that she never noticed how her uncle's palatinate eyes sharpened and his sharp-amused gaze follow a couple of beetles as they flew out of an open window and towards the south of the city.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**Sychi: Yes! That's it so far. Thanks for reading also please review, your comment or critics really important to me. Thank you very much ^^**

**Kaito: Do as she says and review…I'm the one who edits these chapters. She doesn't post anything until I've edited them…and I tend to move according to the amount of reviews Sy-chi gets and the amount of tea and coffee in my system at the time…my mood too…-leaves to edit chapter 3 with a large mug of coffee-**


	3. Inked Sketches and Ketchup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Perception is created and twisted so quickly." ~Louis C. K.
> 
> “It’s dark! Why is it so dark?! Mama! Papa! Where are you?”
> 
> "We have a problem..."
> 
> A fragment of a memory is remembered and suppressed, as the opening move is made and countered in the same instance...What will happen next?

**Syria: Sorry for the late update! Well, it supposes to update few days ago. Both me and Kaito-san were busy with moving out for our university. More like like our semester has started, so the update will be very slow. But of course our country was different. Thank you very much for everyone who read/follow/fav/review this story. Also thanks for waiting patiently.**

**Kaito: -sighs- I’m really sorry for both the fact that this chapter is so late and was taken down. A certain someone -glares at Sychi- decided to post this chapter without double checking with me if it was actually ready for posting…-sighs- as I’m in class as I write this so I’ll be fast and frank. Sychi forgot to put certain warning up so I’m stuck doing it. –grumbles-**

**WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!**

**I can now say that I did in fact warn you. If you were too blind to not notice the big fat capital letters then you clearly don’t read this part. There WILL be gore, blood, insanity, dark topics, and general confusion from this point onwards…for you that is. Sy-chi and I however know exactly what’s happening…. I wonder if any of you’ll catch on. Till next chapter, Later.**

**** **Syria: SORRY! I will not do that again! Btw I got punish by Kaito-san for that. Hahaha.. believe me you don’t want to know what happend that day when I made mistake. WITHOUT ANY WAIT! Enjoy your chapter 3!**

 **Disclaimer: All KHR!Characters such as Tsuna and friends wasn’t mine. They were belong to Akira Amano. I just borrow them. Thanks you for read this disclaimer.**  

* * *

  **Legend:**

-Blah-: Written word

_‘Blah’: Thoughts_

“Blah”: Talking

 **-~-~-~-**   **:**   _Flashback (beginning and end)_

* * *

  ** _Silence 3: Inked Sketches and Ketchup_**

* * *

  ** _-North Palermo/4:20PM – 6:00PM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_**

* * *

 It was twilight; the sun was setting beyond the horizon turning the sky a brilliant, bright orange, the perfect time for a walk. After their talk about rich people, Nairi and her uncle enjoyed their tea in silence. Honestly, they always chatted over tea at least once a day. After that they were free to do anything for the rest of the day.

Today she decided that a walk would be wonderful. Rummaging in her room she took out a sketchbook and a small bottle some ink together with an ink pen. She put the ink pen and the bottle of ink in her small hand bag. As for her sketchbook, she decided to just carry it in her hands.

She wrote a note on her desk, tore it, and then folded it. Then she rushed down the stairs, stopping by the cashier desk she put the note on it and left it there so her uncle can see it later. With that she left the shop.

She walked to the park that not so far from the shop. She looked at her surroundings; her eyes never stopping their search for a good spot to stop and sketch. ‘ _Ha… The wind is so refreshing._ ’

After some minutes passed, she finally arrived at the park. She grinned at the beauty of the scene that was in front of her. The autumn season had turned the tree’s leaves into a large assortment of colors; shades of reds, yellows, orange and browns littered the tops of the trees, with the odd shade of fading green sprinkled into the picture. It was a scene of beauty which Nairi was excited to draw, grinning she took out her sketchbook thinking about the scene in front of her. True it was a very beautiful scene, however she could also see that the beauty of the scene turned the attention away from certain details, detail which if looked closely at would show the truth. That beauty really was almost always only skin deep.

If looked at closely those small details started to slowly weave a picture of something much more sinister. They were simple details; leaves slowly turning brown as they dried up. Small animals scurrying through the forest floor covered in dried leaves and the odd dead animal, such as birds and insects. Sometimes white skeletal bone could be seen peeking out of their leaf covered graves. There was also an odd chill in the air as leaves left their tree one by one, and the woods became drier each day. Not many people come to this park at this hour, which she supposed accounted for the silence. She sat down on one of the park’s bench. She leaned back and closed her eyes. The wind was blowing a breeze which helped her to calm her mind.

Satisfied with peaceful atmosphere at the park Nairi sat up, closing her notebook as she went and continued her walk to the café. She always went to this café when she had the time. Walking into the café and towards the counter to place an order she just missed the odd sight of a yellow bird flying by as it chased a white owl from a tree. Each time she came here, she always ordered her favorite drink; a Green Tea Latte with extra milk. Today was just the same.

A grin spread across her face as she noticed that the line was short and that she didn’t need to wait too long until it was her turn nor till her drink was ready. She hummed happily as she took her drink and went out of the café. Her journey doesn’t end here she had one more place she wanted to go, her favorite destination, the harbor. The harbors in Sicily were beautiful, especially at dusk; however the one near the city was, in her opinion, the most beautiful one. She walked along the edge of the road near the sea, enjoying the scenery that her eyes saw as she passed by. It was a beautiful sunset, the same sunset in her last memory with her parents…

**-~-~-~-**

_A shivering figure, a cold cell, screams and whimpers echoing in the darkness_

_“It’s dark! Why is it so dark?! Mama! Papa! Where are you?”_

_Pleas of mercy, laughter…and a **BANG!**_

**-~-~-~-**

‘ _I wonder where they are now..._ ’ Her face became sad as she remembered her parents. The memories couldn’t be replaced by anything in this world but sometimes she wondered if it was better to forget them. Suddenly she stopped and brought her palms up to her face hard. As the result, there were two red handprints appeared on both her cheeks. ‘ _No, don’t let get you down. Never feel down again! You promised! Come on cheer up Nairi!_ ’ she continued her walk until she arrived at an area where cargo storage warehouses were located.

‘ _Ah… I walked too far. Better get back before Uncle starts to worry._ ’ She turned around and just when she about to walked away from the area the sound of large warehouse door being opened caused her to turn. She immediately met the surprised gold coloured eyes of a young man with spiky black haired as he came out from one of the warehouses. The man was tall; he wore a dark blue button up shirt and black slacks. ‘ _Uwaa… Another handsome man?! Oh God what did I do to get this kind of chance to see three GOOD looking men in one day. Thank you so much God!_ ’ Nairi prayed in her thoughts as she observed the man in front of her.

The man took a few steps away from the warehouse door then looked left and right. His face looked like a man who was confused, so she walked up to him hurriedly and tapped him on the shoulder. The man reflexively swings his arm to his back, but stopped when he spotted her. “Wah! That’s close. Sorry, sorry. Hahaha… reflex. Are you okay?” he questioned the young girl worriedly. The girl only answered it with a nod.

The raven haired man shot a sharp narrow eyed glance at the warehouse door over her shoulder. She was so busy studying him that she didn’t notice, and when she finally did pay attention the dark look was gone from his face as he grinned at her. A puzzled look decorated Nairi’s face as she tiled her head slightly to the left, her view of the warehouse and its door was blocked completely by the man’s body. However she wasn’t focused on that. Nairi was more concerned with the specks of red on the man’s shirt. _‘Ketchup? And that looks like it’s an expensive shirt too’_

Annoyed at the mess staining the shirt, she opened her sketchbook and tore a small piece off. She wrote a note with her ink pen then flipped the paper. – Do you want to borrow my handkerchief to clean off that ketchup stain on your shirt? –

After he read the note he gave her a grin, she never noticed the slight relief that quickly flickered in his eyes. “Hahaha… Yeah, Thanks.” The girl nodded as she took out her handkerchief and handed it to him. Just as his hand was about to take it, she pulled it back as a thought crossed her mind. _‘He’ll need to return it somehow right?’_ Nodding to herself she ripped another small piece of paper from her notebook, wrote on it, folded it, and slipped it into the folded handkerchief. Once done she once more handed him the handkerchief. The man took the handkerchief then said a soft thank you with a broad grin spread across his face. Nairi nodded to the man and turned, not looking back as she walked away from him and the warehouse. She never noticed the red puddle, which slowly became visible as it spread and the eerie silence.

‘ _Absolutely handsome, but also absolutely weird._ ’

Yamamoto was staring at the handkerchief he held. Shrugging he unfolded the handkerchief to read the note that the girl had slipped in. A big grin slowly crept unto his face as he slowly read the note. Once finished he let loose a short laugh, not minding the fact that it made him look slightly unhinged. Not that he could really blame anyone who thought that, considering the fact that he had a slight hint of madness hidden in his eyes and that his smile was off.

He stopped laughing shortly after, however the deranged grin stayed in place on his face as he placed the handkerchief, along with the note, in his left pocket. He then took out his phone from his right pocket, hitting one of the speed dial numbers and waited for it to ring. Sometimes later someone from the other line answered the call. “Moshi-moshi Hibari, I need a clean-up at the warehouse near the harbor. I’m afraid I made a _slight_ mess. Could you please send someone? Tell Gokudera as well.”

“Hn. Is anyone still alive?”

“Hahaha…I said I made a _mess_ didn’t I?” There was a slight deranged delight in his tone as he emphasized the word “mess”

“Hn.” At the end of other line Hibari smirked. He wondered how many pieces the swordsman left those herbivores in…

“And please tell this to Reborn-san.” Yamamoto continued, his tone turning serious with an underlining rage in it. His friendly face wasn’t so quite friendly anymore. The smile was still on his face; however there was a dark edge to it. It showed entirely too much teeth to be classified as warm, and friendly. The unhinged look in his eyes didn’t help matters and neither did the slight speckles of what the girl from earlier had mistakenly thought as ketchup; closer inspection showed it to be in actuality blood. 

On the other end of the phone, Hibari waited patiently for the baseball player to continue. His smirk had long since gone, replaced with a blank face, the moment that Yamamoto’s voice turned serious.

“We have a problem; that rumor that some assassins have gathered at one place? Looks like it was true and they were paid by **a famiglia**. Unfortunately, the rumors about the weapon smuggling were also true. I found large amounts of weapons in the warehouse where the clean-up is. I guess there’s still more.” Yamamoto reported. 

“Hn. Keep patrolling.” Hibari replied shortly. The second the call ended, both guardians went back to their duty, to insure that they kept their promise to protect their beloved sky.

‘ _My Sky, I’ll never let you hurt again…We failed you once… **but never again**._ ’

As he left, Yamamoto paid no attention to the fact that the door to the warehouse was slightly ajar, giving a slight peak into a horrific sight. Bodies in pieces scattered across the floor, blood pooling and spreading past the door and into the street, it was a scene that could only be found in a truly horrific horror movie or the mind of a sadistic killer who let his darkness out to play for the day and made his fantasy come true.

* * *

TBC

* * *

  **Syira: Hope you like it. Please review, because we, I and Kaito-san will need it. She’s really worked hard for this chapter. I am so touched. BTW! Please and pretty please... review~ your opinion or critics were accepted. Thanks for reading ^^**

**Kaito: Ah. I’m off to work on chapter 4 now. I’ll see ya later. I’m still in class…**


	4. Unfortunate Events and Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them." ~Andre Gide
> 
> "...we must hurry and inform Reborn-san. Tsuna’s in danger."
> 
> “JYUUDAIME! WHERE ARE YOU?!”
> 
> The pieces are slowly coming together. The dogs are on the trail of a sent, the mice scurrying after them. As the next move is made in the shadows the only question is...Will the connection be made in time?

**Sychi: Hi Readers! Sorry for the late update.. actually we already warn you that this story will update really slow, so we completely sorry for the lateness. Thank you for the reviews/favs/follows! Btw we need to warn you that this story will turn into rate M story because of violence scene, also this chapter will be very dark then the original one.**

**_Kaito: I suppose you could blame the lateness on me this time –yawns- my exams were a bit of a nightmare and the winter break was no help. Oh and once again:_ **

**_WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!_** ****

**_That should be familiar to you. If not check chapter 3. This is my only warning. I was in a bit of a mood while editing due to a certain someone’s run away fingers –glares at Sychi- and thus I may have used much darker words then what you’ve seen so far when filling in the details and fixing the structure. Either way, I’m giving you the same warning I gave Sychi. DO NOT READ THIS BEFORE BED OR AT NIGHT IF YOU SCARE EASY OR HAVE A WEAK HEART/CONSTITUTION/STOMACH…Sychi didn’t listen. Ask her what happened.…oh and the translations are on the bottom in order of appearance._**

**Sychi: Enjoy your updates ^^**

* * *

  **Legend:**

-Blah-: Written word

_‘Blah’: Thoughts_

“Blah”: Talking

 **-~-~-~-**   **:**   _Flashback (beginning and end)_

* * *

  **Silence 4: Unfortunate Events and Chaos**

* * *

_Memories were something that people always held close to themselves; good or bad. They are the small precious pieces of time forever etched into a person’s soul. It’s the memories of an individual’s experiences that molded them into what they could be, should be, or would be; for it was with these memories carved into themselves that they made their choices- it mattered little if the individual themselves remembered, their souls and hearts always would, and that in the end is all that mattered. Not Destiny. Not Fate. Not Time. No, what matters is the choices they made influenced by those precious pieces of a lost event in time that marked them as unique; different. Even if those event were somehow erased, taken away, lost or hidden from the conscious and subconscious willingly or not. They left their mark upon the soul and **that** is all that mattered in the end, seeing as sometimes, rarely but still possible, those events are suppressed for a reason…_

_Behind a glass window, a little girl stood up while her eyes were looking to the outside of the house. Along the landscape as far as the eyes could see were thousands of houses that covered the area below the bridge and its surroundings. A train sped past on the bridge and in an instant the noisy sound was heard in every corner of the settlement. Dark brown orbs never broke its gaze from the train until the entire train passed far beyond her sight._

_A few minutes later she ran to her desk. Grabbing a piece of white paper and a pencil, she began to scribble, black forms slowly spreading on once pure white paper. Her eyes were focused on the paper, her hand which used the pencil kept scribbling without rest as the other hand kept the paper at its place._

_“Nairi, its dinner time!” her mother called and her movements stopped._

_Her eyes stared at the drawing in front of her, looking for any mistakes on it. She picked the paper then lifted it up so the blank side faced the ceiling. ‘Yosh! This is perfect.’ After the final check was done, she put it down then ran towards the stairs and to the kitchen with satisfactory smile on her face the picture long forgotten and only the thought of having a delicious dinner together with her beloved parents in her mind…_

* * *

**_-Nairi’s Store /8AM – 8:30AM/October 12th/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_ **

* * *

 At the capital city of Sicily called Palermo, light filtered through the open window of an art shop. Kimura Nairi and her uncle, who was the owner of the shop, were up and about as they cleaned the shop before the morning customers would arrive. Her uncle was the one in charge of breakfast for today, as such Nairi was the one who’s in charge of cleaning the shop. She cleaned every rack in the shop and arranged the various crafts on the rack, dusted the desk and the glass in front of the shop, and also swept and mopped the floor.

After she finished Nairi stretched out all the kinks in her body as she let loose a large yawn. She rubbed her eyes as she took in the now clean shop and turned to amble into the kitchen for breakfast with her uncle. Today’s breakfast was a cup of tea and some bread, just like always. “Nairi,” her uncle called. “I will have to go to the market today. The fridge is almost empty, will you be okay on your own?” she nodded as her hand brought the cup to her mouth. “Good. I will be back soon.” Her uncle patted her head with a dark green trench coat in his other hand. Nairi frowned and let her gaze follow her uncle until he was well out of her eyesight. Sighing, she continued to enjoy her breakfast though her face was still set into a concerned frown.

_‘Take care uncle, because I have a bad feeling about the next few days…’_

* * *

**_-Vongola HQ /8AM – 9AM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_ **

* * *

Within the Vongola Mansion there was a spacious room filled with luxurious furniture, and beautiful decorations. It was a room that showed wealth, luxury and power. In every sense of the word it really was a phenomenal room that caught the eyes of all who visited it (if they were ever given the _privilege_ that is). A low hanging chandelier hung in the centre of the room emitting a soft glow into the dimly lit room, giving it a sense of ominous foreboding darkness. You could feel tremendous pressure once you stepped into the room as the figures seated at the table in the centre of the room emitted varying amounts of tension and restlessness. All the chairs from the head to the last were all filled expect for one, adding a great deal more tension within the already near capacity of the room’s atmosphere.

A tense 20 minutes, with only the sound of breathing breaking the stifling silence, passed before the door opened to admit a raven haired man, who sported a wide, nearly ear to ear grin on his face with closed slanted eyes, into the room. The man, Yamamoto Takeshi, sat down in the last available chair, his presence seemed to stir the atmosphere of the room to as close to breaking point as possible, though not one person in the dimly lit room moved from their spot. At the very moment he sat down the light of the chandelier lit his formally shadowed features, putting a great deal of emphasis on his fully Glasgow like smile as he hummed a soft quiet tune.

At his right Gokudera Hayato kept silent as he let his gaze quickly flicker towards Yamamoto, normally he would usually shout when the Rain Guardian came late to any sort of event. However, today was different. He had noticed the slightly unstable tilt to his fellow Guardian’s eyes and the dark tone his grin bore. Yes, something had defiantly happened to cause the normally calm rain to drop his cherry mask, and from the clear bloodlust still evident in his aura and body language the news would not be good.

Across from Gokudera, Lambo was sprawled lazily onto the table with one eye closed. Thought he seemed to be relaxed the fact that his single half lidded open eye tracked Yamamoto’s movements and the slight stiffening of his posture gave away his true feelings. He did not like that fact that Yamamoto’s katana had not retreated back into its Vongola gear form. That alone told the Vongola’s Thunder that somewhere out there were several butchered bodies slowly leaking blood onto a floor and pooling, causing a twisted image of a red puddle or lake.

Ryohei sat next to him, his face set into a grim expression. Vongola’s Sun must have come to the same conclusion that Lambo had. Ryohei closed his eyes and folded both arms in front of his chest as he let his eyes stare at Yamamoto in question. His reply was a cheerily hummed tune that had a dark undertone.

Chrome, together with Mukuro by her side, sat in front of Ryohei. Both shared a look as they took in the Rain’s expression and the fact that he had yet to release his katana. Simultaneously both gripped their tridents tightly as a dark aura started to envelop both Mists.

Hibari stood at the corner of the room furthest from the group, with folded arms, as he eyed every occupant in the room. However his gaze flickered to Yamamoto most often, as if judging how much blood was split by the Rain. He smirked yes, Vongola’s Rain truly was a monster, a very well hidden one but a monster nonetheless, and one that was still very much angered by the events of last night. He wondered _just_ how red the rain turned last night.

“Everyone report.” Reborn, with his black fedora hiding his face in shadows, commanded to all the occupants of the room from the head chair. His husky voice had a dark and dangerous undertone as it broke the silence of the room.

There was silence for a brief moment until Lambo gave his report, “The brats were really annoying, some of them were trouble makers as well. Spoiled children. However none of them had any information of any particular importance that we don’t already know. It was a waste of time.” In the dim room, a glimpse of his scowling face could be seen as he leaned into his chair in a false lazy sprawl.

“Che. This is about Judaime’s safety, take it seriously Ahoshi. As for spoiled, it’s not like you’re not either.” Gokudera immediately commented at Lambo’s report. Instead of getting mad at the comment, the teen just ignored it and focused on the next report.

“All medical staff are ready to mobilize at the first sign of trouble, but we still have some medicine that needs to be stocked up on.” Ryohei reported quickly from Lambo’s left side in clipped soft, serious voice.

“All media has been told that we are just preparing for a private company party just like what you asked Reborn-san. Though the police were present and slightly suspicious, none of the media representatives took the suspicion of the police with anything but a grain of salt. The media won’t peer deeper than what we gave them, at least, for now,” Chrome pause for a moment. Each pair of ears in the room perked up in interest. They knew something important was about to come up and prepared to listen more attentively. “The police, however, were persistent. They kept digging for more information on the party, hoping for something that would give them cause to pay us a visit” The new information caused a rise in the tension of the room. All eyes narrowed with dark promises as the implications of a police visit sunk in. “There’s one more problem,” Those present stiffened when Chrome opened her mouth again, “The reporters, they insisted on having an interview with Bossu.” The last sentence made Reborn pull his fedora down even more to cover his eyes in shadows. Signaling to all present that he was wasn’t happy with the news of an interview demand. This was really bad news for them, if the reporters persisted there’s a possibility, no matter how small, that information would be leaked to the outside world and the police.

"Kufufufu...It seems like you had a bit of trouble my dear Nagi," Mukuro commented, an unearthly gleam appeared in his eyes as he continued slowly, "Though it seems not as much as I encountered in my little examination of our manor." An aura of bloodlust suddenly appeared as he let loose a grin that showed entirely too much teeth while twirling his trident around, “There were some dogs and rats that had enough courage to lurk around the mansion,” His hand stopped twirling the trident and instead switched to play with his trident’s spikes as his lips pulled into mischievous smirk. “Kufufu… those government dogs and the rats that follow in their shadows have _such_ a habit of sniffing around where they’re not wanted. What a surprise. Though you _must_ admire their high levels of curiosity and low IQ levels. Too bad that their not cats, even if their curiosity killed them they would at least have 8 other lives to fall back on~” He gave a satisfied smile that went from ear to ear that bore a dark undertone; it told a story of blood and torture.

Suddenly Yamamoto’s cheerful, out of place voice, filled the tense room, “Hahaha… Don’t worry Mukuro. It’s not only you.” He smiled turned into a grin as he continued his report, “I found some assassins gathered around the harbor yesterday. Not only that,” he took a paused before continuing. Under the table, his hand absentmindedly trailed his katana’s hilt as he remembered how pretty and mesmerizing the slowly advancing red puddle was as it leaked out of the several scattered severed limbs and how musical the screams of agony were, he could have danced to its music “I also found various weapons in large amounts in one of the warehouses at the harbor. One of them was oh, so kind as to tell me what they were for, after the nice _chat_ we had.” He grinned just like he won the lottery. In his mind, he could still hear every sound and step of the dance that happened, a dance filled with glints of silver, limbs being ripped apart, his sword slashing and stabbing flesh, and the wonderful screams of the assassins as they fell dead and in pieces. His hand could still feel the sensation of a still live, beating heart, which he pulled out of one of the still alive hunks of flesh. It wouldn’t do to leave a witness. He didn’t want to let his friends, _especially_ Tsuna, his Sky, know about his darker, psychopathic tendencies. “I’m sure Gokudera and Reborn-san already know this from Hibari.” He ended his report with his unusual happy smile as both said men nodded their head.

“In that case,” Reborn stood with his hands on the meeting table. He eyed all guardians with a glint of bloodlust in his eyes, the message was clear, kill all disturbances “Yamamoto, Hibari, both of you will work together to solve the issues, insure they are taken care of before the day of the event. Interrogate every one you find to be suspicious, find out which famiglia paid those assassins and where the weapons came from. Don’t let anyone live.” He wanted to end this meeting quickly. All the problems really _annoyed_ him. Right now he felt like killing something. He turned his head to the mist pair, “Mukuro, keep looking for any spies in the mansion. Squeeze any and all information from them, they don’t need to be sane or in one piece. They just need to be able to give us the information we need. Use the information you get to help Hibari and Yamamoto. You know what to do with the rest,” he paused to take a breath then continued, “Chrome, keep your eyes on the media and the police. Make sure they don’t have any information that we haven’t fed them. Prevent any information leaks in any way possible.” His eyes then landed on the two men and the teen. “Gokudera, you better go to Tsuna’s office before he gets suspicious. Lambo, your assignment stays the same. Ryohei, you will go with Lambo tomorrow to stock up on some medicine. For now you can double check the supplies and the staff. Dismissed.” All guardians immediately stood from their respective seats and walked out of the room, leaving Reborn in deep thought, alone in the dimly lit room.

Suddenly a sigh escaped the hitman’s lips. He then stood and walked towards the book shelf, the shadows in the room danced due to the slow dimming of the lights, until his form was encased in shadows. Not even his footsteps were heard as he disappeared further into the darkness of the room. Shortly after, the lights flickered on for but a moment, revealing the empty room, with no one inside. Then shadows descended once more, leaving the room devoid of life, with not a trace of the meeting that took place in it.

* * *

**_-Sector N-08 /9:10AM – 9:30AM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_ **

* * *

Yamamoto was walking casually along deserted road on the outskirts of the northern Sicily. A smile decorated his face, both his hands in his pants pocket, his shirt was slightly mussed with his tie loosened. In all he looked like a foreign business man taking a break from work after a long night working.

As he patrolled, his eyes caught the movement of a group of men in a shadowed area, deep in an alley. He narrowed his eyes as he sensed the subtle presence of flames, mist flames to be exact, weak ones but mist flames nonetheless, _‘What do we have here?’_ He immediately hid his presence and melded into the shadows of the nearest alley, not far from where he stood. The group of four looked to be discussing something of importance and not getting along, as they looked to be involved in a heated argument. One of four caught his attention the most. He looked familiar to Yamamoto, as if he had seen the man’s face before. Yamamoto’s eyes caught the movement of the man’s hands, in it was a piece of paper that he was waving around and showing to the rest. It made Yamamoto more suspicious of the man and his group. Quickly he glanced around and noticed that the area that the group stood in was in the direct path of a blind spot in the security cameras installed throughout the city. _‘Well, I can’t have that now can I?’_ Yamamoto let loose a grin as he maneuvered his body to allow him to snap pictures of the man and his group with his phone. He also noted that they looked to be finishing their little discussion as they seemed to come to an agreement.

The man, who held the paper, handed it over to one of the three. In return he was shown a briefcase, which was then handed over once the man had nodded in approval. The resulting movement allowed Yamamoto to catch a very significant glance of the contents of both the paper and the briefcase. The Rain let loose a low growl as his expression darkened in anger. He continued to watch as they then went in opposite directions of each other as if nothing of significance had happened. It would have looked like nothing happened, but unfortunately for the group of men they had made several mistakes; most significantly was their choice in conducting their deal in Vongola territory and pissing off one of the Underworld’s most dangerous monsters. The man with the briefcase was also unfortunate that the one who had caught him was Vongola’s Rain; a man who wasn’t known as _Il Sangue Fenice_ for nothing. So involved in the high he received due to his supposed success he never noticed the fact that people were instinctively avoiding the area he was in and that a dark aura was suffocating all the sound of what would normally be in an ally into silence.

Yamamoto grinned in bloodthirsty delight as he readied his katana. Keeping his presence hidden until the man passed the opening of the alley he was hiding in, he then quickly grabbed the man’s mouth insuring no one heard him scream in panic, pulled him into the alley, and then violently pushed him hard into the wall of the ally. The man groaned in pain due to the force of the impact. He open his mouth to yell at the man who had grabbed him and then pushed him into the wall, but immediately stopped when he realized that he had a katana against his neck. “Buongiorno signore! Today’s a good day, isn’t it? Now then, you won’t mind making it better by telling me what you did just now, _right_ signore?” Yamamoto asked in a cheerful tone paired with a bright smile.

The pinned man paled rapidly as his eyes took in Yamamoto’s face. He knew his assailant’s face, there was no one who wasn’t part of the Underworld who didn’t fear this man. Vongola’s Rain Guardian was a **_monster_ ** unlike any other in the Underworld’s bloody history; he had earned his name of _Il Sangue Fenice_ well.  “I don’t know what you are talking about.” The man tried to put up a brave front but he couldn’t hide the tremors that shook both his voice and body from Yamamoto.

“Oh… Is that so? You know signore, I don’t like a liars. Liars were the ones who _hurt_ **my** **Sky** , and I **_don’t_ ** like **my Sky** being hurt. So…” his smile turned cold and menacing, he then put a bit of force into the blade cutting the man’s throat slightly. “I’ll just kill you now.” Yamamoto said, the cold smile now a maniacal ear to ear grin. His eyes had turned serious with a hint of insanity in it.

 “Wait! Wait! I’ll talk! I’ll admit everything! Just please don’t kill me. I’m an information broker. I told them about your boss, Vongola Decimo’s location and some important information about the security.” He said in a hurried, panicked voice. His face become paler and his body trembled harder in terror. He, like any other person who walked the dark and bloody path of the Underworld, knew of all the stories and rumours that swirled around the Vongola, especially the current head and his Guardians. Very little was actually really known about Vongola Decimo. The Vongola and its several allies guarded the young don jealously, with a fervour that bordered on obsession. Very few had gotten a glimpse of the don and even fewer were allowed to have an audience with him. The rumours were mostly on the topic of Decimo’s Guardians, with a great deal of emphasis on their jealous possessiveness when it came to their Sky. One of the most terrifying of them was, to his horror, standing in front of him with a sword to his neck. He paled further as he finally fully comprehended his situation.

‘ _He’s still hiding something._ ’ Yamamoto thought with a mental snarl as he pulled his katana back slightly and tilted it to insure that the man at his sword point got a full glimpse of the bloodstains that had soaked into his blade from the large amount of blood he had fed it. “Hm… Thanks for telling me that signore. I’m thankful really, but it seems like your still hiding some information that I need. Well, it’s okay if you don’t want to tell me. I’ll just call Hibari or Mukuro to interrogate you for me.” He said with a slight grin as he brought up his phone to his ear. Yamamoto was well aware of all the legends and rumours that circled the Guardians, and he was quite willing to both fuel it and use it.

The man’s eyes widened at the names and if possible further paled. This new information caused him shout out in panic, “WAIT!” Smiling inwardly in self-satisfaction, Yamamoto looked at the man in feint surprise. “They’re planning to assassinate your boss. They have a sniper ready! I told them when your boss is most likely to come out of the mansion or when he’s most likely to be caught off guard. The one in charge for the snipe is supposedly a famous hitman. The rest will be watching for when your boss is leaving the mansion.” The man explained in panic.

“Ah… Is that so? Thanks for telling me signore,” Yamamoto smiling cheerfully to the man, who not noticing the gleam of insanity and rage in the Rain Guardian’s eye, let out a sigh of relief “But…” a quick, smooth motion was all it took. It was a simple quick death. The man had no chance to even scream. “I didn’t promise not to kill you, did I? Hahaha…Sorry signore, but you attempted to hurt my Sky.” Yamamoto said with his trademark smile, not sounding remorseful at all. His smile then took a darker tone as he continued “Anyone who hurts my Sky. Even if it’s just an attempt **_have_ ** to die. You agree _don’t you_?”

The Rain took a glance at the man’s now limp body. Humming, Yamamoto took out his phone then pressed one of the speed dial buttons. After a few seconds, the other at the end of the line was answered by an annoyed voice. “Yo Hibari! Hahaha… Sorry, sorry. I have some important information from sector N-08.”

“…”

“I will tell you the all the details later but we must hurry and inform Reborn-san. Tsuna’s in danger.” Yamamoto’s voice suddenly became serious. Very serious and very dark. His flames danced on his still unsheathed blade. Baring witness to his true thoughts and feelings on the subject of the danger his Sky was in, contrary to his calm and composed appearance.

A storm was raging in the Underworld…the only question was if it was ready for it…. 

* * *

**_-Sector NW-18 /9:10AM – 9:30AM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_ **

* * *

North-west of the Vongola Mansion was a shopping district which was affectionately known to all in Vongola as Sector NW-18. It is well-known as a tourist trap for those who do not belong to the Underworld, full of foreigners and natives alike. The constant crowds would have been heaven for assassins and spies. However those who reside in the Underworld know the truth; Sector NW-18 is infamously known to them as one part of _Il Labirinto del Sangue_ . Said Sector is one of the 8 sectors that surround Vongola’s HQ in Palermo. Each of the eight is rumoured to be under the direct supervision of one of the Guardians with the exception of one. Sector NW-18 is also known by another name; _Foresta di Fiori Selvaggi_.

Above the crowds of tourists, Hibari’s eyes were scanning the area for any perceived threats from the rooftop of one of the shops present in the sector. In the sky there was a fluffy yellow bird flying around the area following his movements. They observed each herbivore’s behavior as they scurried along the area. Everything was fine until Hibari spotted a herbivore that was reading a newspaper in front of a café which was connected to a bookstore. The man had been in the same spot for some hours and hadn’t moved from his spot. No one reads a newspaper for that long.

A smirk appeared on Hibari’s face as he leaped down gracefully. The sea of people seemed to naturally part around him, with little attention paid to his presence. Just like a tiger hunting for its prey, Hibari stalked forward towards the man, a bloodthirsty smirk on his lips.

As Hibari readied his tonfas to bite his prey to death the Namimori anthem pierced the air. The loud ring made the man turn around, and spotting Hibari, froze in his spot. His face paled as he recognized the male standing just a few feet away from him. The expression on the man’s face showed that he’d liked nothing more than to run, however it seemed as if he was frozen in place, unable to move. Hibari gazed at his prey, his ice coloured eyes piercing through the man, then let loose a sound of annoyance, having expressed his ire, he proceeded to answer his phone. His gaze however stayed on his prey, “What?”

“…” The cheerful voice from the other line made him even more annoyed.

“Explain.” Hibari’s arctic tone commanded the caller.

“…” The once cheerful tone took a sudden 180 as it switched into an angered, serious tone. The ice that could be felt over the phone matched the winds of Antarctica. It was enough to cause Hibari’s gaze to break from his prey and to shift suddenly to the phone in his hand. The break in the gaze gave the once frozen man enough time to shake himself free from his fear induced paralysis and make a break for it in panic. The man knew exactly where he was and the consequences of his presence being found out.

“Hn. Fine.” Hibari hanged up, then let loose a bloodthirsty smirk as his gaze followed the path his prey had taken.

Not waiting for another moment, he leaped up onto one of the rooftops. Jumping from one rooftop to another, he spotted his prey as the man ran in fearful panic. With quick and smooth movements, he jumped faster disappearing from his prey’s sights for a moment in order to pass the man. He noted the direction that his prey had chosen to take, a mischievous smirk decorated his face at the unexpected bad luck of his prey. The three way split in the street ahead was the perfect spot to capture his prey. His smirk got larger as he proceed to herd his prey, it took a more bloodthirsty tone as he leaped down and surprised the man. Startled the man took a sharp turn to left which led into a dead end. The man’s eyes widened and in a fearful panic quickly grabbed a gun from his chest pocket and shot at the skylark, who easily dodged.

In the blink of an eye, one of the silver customized tonfas of Vongola’s Cloud crashed down on the hand that held gun, as the other broke some of the man’s ribs. The prey fell down on to his knees and coughed up some blood. One of victim’s hands, nursed the place where a good number of ribs were broken. He looked up with a pale face and wide eyes as Hibari stood towering over him. The man let loose pathetic whimpers as he cowered into the wall, as if wishing to disappear into it. Hibari simply smirked, then stepped towards the man. Screams of agony echoed throughout the streets, only to be lost into the cheerful chatter of the crowds and the laughter of children.

* * *

**_-Downtown Palermo/11 AM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_ **

* * *

It was nearing noon, and soon it would be almost the time for the siesta. During this time in Downtown Palermo, a black car was driving around the city. Inside the black car was the Chiavarone Don, Dino Cavallone, and his Right Hand, Romario; who was driving the car. Right now they were on the way to the Art shop where Dino ordered his surprise present as he had yet to pay for the painting.

“Turn to the left at next junction.” Dino directed. Although Dino didn’t remember the address of the shop he still remembered how to get there.

Dino had decided to not stay at Vongola mansion for the safety of his plan. Yesterday Tsuna insisted that he stay the night. It was a hell of a lot of work for Dino to decline Tsuna’s offer because of his little brother stubbornness and his hatred of disappointing Tsuna. Even when he reached his car Tsuna kept up his persistence in getting him to stay the night at Vongola mansion. Of course he couldn’t lie to him. His little brother will immediately know that he was lying, especially with Tsuna’s demonic intuition.

It was also why he was going to the Art shop from Chiavarone mansion. He even went so far as to avoid certain streets that led to Vongola mansion. It’ll ruin everything if someone from Vongola sees him, and it then gets to Tsuna. It also helped that he had the threat of _those demons_ hanging over him.

Dino sighed in relief as they passed by one of the main junctions leading to Vongola HQ; his plan was going smoothly so far. He already got this far, now he just needed to insure that it lasted. He can’t mess this up. It’s both really hard and really rare that anyone was able to give Tsuna a surprise at his birthday, or anytime at all really, because of his _demonic_ intuition _and_ Reborn’s **_influence_ **. Just the line of thought was enough to cause Dino to shudder. His little brother could be quite scary when deprived of caffeine and sleep. Shaking himself out of his thoughts he contemplated the rest of the things he needed to get done before he was home free. He’d only have to pay for the painting and hope his birthday present was not yet opened, and wouldn’t be until the day of the event.

His elated mood, as a result of there being only few minutes left until they reach the art shop, was crushed like a cockroach that got under foot when his phone began to ring. His face paled when looked at the caller’s number. ‘ _Tsuna! Why did he call me **now** of times?! What do I do!? I can’t let him know that I’m not at home right now!_’ he thought in panic. Both of his hands were already pulling at his blonde hair in frustrated panic. Romario saw his boss’ reaction at the car’s rear view mirror. He immediately knew who the caller was. For now he could only pray that his boss could get out of this crisis.

* * *

**_-Vongola HQ /8 AM - 11 AM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_ **

* * *

“Damn you Reborn! Leaving all this paperwork to me while you nowhere to be seen. Screw you. Where is this thing you call help? Efficient my ass…” Tsuna murmured darkly as he signed sheet after sheet of paper. He was really annoyed now. It didn’t help that his entire office was surrounded in stacks of paperwork to the point that they covered his desk and nearly overflowed out both the door and window; add to that the fact that the first thing he saw in the morning was paperwork, his friends being nowhere to be found (which normally resulted in **more** paperwork), and worst of all? The complete and utter **_ silence _ ** of the manor. He didn’t know what was going on but he felt that something was off. “Hah…” sighing, Tsuna leant back into his armchair. He faced the ceiling and thought, ‘ _I hope everyday isn’t like this. It’s too silence and I don’t like it. Especially Hibari and Mukuro, there’s no sign of their normal fights today. That’s weird. I wonder where everyone is…_ ’

His thought snapped as he heard a sound of door being opened. Honey eyes looked up to meet the jade eyes of his Storm, who just was entering the office. “Sorry for interrupting Jyuudaime,” The Italian said while bowing politely to Tsuna. “Is there anything that I can do to help?”

“It’s okay Gokudera-kun. Ah… Well, as you can see. Haha… I wonder if I can finish all this paperwork.” Tsuna smiled awkwardly at his childhood friend. Honey orbs stared at the towers of white paper hopelessly.

“I’ll help you with it,” the silver haired man said as he walked to his boss’s desk. He took a pile of paper and sat at the couch in the room. He arranged each paper in the pile so Tsuna can sign it more easily. “Reborn-san sure gave you a lot.”

“Yeah, he did. He won’t let me take any breaks at all before most if not all of this paperwork is done.” Tsuna pinched his bridge nose.

“But it’s Reborn we are talking about.” Gokudera laughed a bit at his boss’ antics.

“You’re right. He’s Reborn.” Tsuna looked at his right-hand-man with small smile on his face. As they settled into their respective spots, an easy, comfortable silence, that spoke of trust and warmth settled around the room. The sound of paper being signed and about was the only thing that could be heard because in the insuring silence as both worked.

After sometime Gokudera broke the silence between them with a question, “Jyuudaime, do you miss your mother?”

For a moment Tsuna’s hand stopped signing the paper, surprised by the sudden question. Putting his pen down, he looked up to his Right Hand. “It’d be a lying if I say I don’t miss her,” he closed his eyes as he remembered every the last time he saw his mother. “I do miss her Gokudera-kun. I miss her cooking, her warm hug, her beautiful smile, and everything about her. I… Really miss her so much,” he tilted his face slightly as to cover his eyes. “But… I can’t put her in any more danger. I won’t treat her like ‘that man’ did. It’s okay for me to hear her voice once a week, and to visit twice yearly.”

Gokudera paid attention from the start, and could feel the sadness in each word that came from his boss. He understood how Tsuna felt. He, himself couldn’t meet his mother anymore, and Nana Sawada was kind enough to have taken him and the others under her wing. “I’m sorry to have brought up this topic Jyuudaime.” He said sadly.

Tsuna held his hand up to Gokudera, “You don’t have to apologize,” He brought down his hand to open a drawer at his right. From inside the drawer he took out a photo frame. In the photo there was a woman who looked to be in her 30’s with short brown hair. The woman was wearing an apron and big smile on her face. “This is the only photo of her I have. I wonder how she looks like now.” His eyes softened at the photo. Slowly, a smile was creeping up on Tsuna’s face as he stared at the photo in his hand. Suddenly he jerked to Gokudera, “Oh! Gokudera-kun, why don’t you take a break? It almost time for the siesta.”

“But Jyuudaime how about…” Tsuna cut Gokudera off.

“Don’t worry about me. I will go after I’m done with this pile.”

“Ha… Fine. I’ll go, but Jyuudaime, be sure not to stop too late for lunch.” The silver head said in worry. The brunette nodded, not wanting to worry his friend.

After the silverette was gone, Tsuna took out his specially designed phone. He pressed one of the speed dial buttons. After sometime, the call finally answered. “Hello Dino-nii, do you have time this afternoon?” he asked cheerfully.

“Eh! Um… Yeah, yeah, I have time. I’m on my way to have lunch right now.” From the other line, a certain blonde replied with a calm tone. This didn’t go unnoticed by Tsuna. His hyper intuition told him that Dino was hiding something from him. But he shrugged it off. If it was important Dino would tell him.

“What a coincidence. Dino-nii how about we have lunch together. There’s a café I want to try. Wher-” before Tsuna done asking, Dino slipped in first.

“Of course Tsuna, I don’t see why not. See you then.” Then the call ended. Tsuna could only stare blankly at his phone. ‘ _What was that? Something seems off with Dino-nii. Hm… Maybe he’s in a hurry. I better get going then before anyone spots me._ ’ And then Tsuna leaped out of his office through window. He needed to see Giannini…

* * *

**_\- Outside Vongola HQ/11:20AM – 1PM /Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_ **

* * *

Gokudera was at the outside of mansion, on his way to photo printing shop. It was true that Tsuna told him to get his lunch, but he decided to prepare his present while he was out.

Actually a few weeks ago, Gokudera had debated about what he should give to Tsuna as a birthday present. It had to be something special and not just for display. Then when he talked with his beloved Jyuudaime he immediately knew what to do.

Stepping into the shop, all the customers and staff were shocked at his presence. All eyes looked at his direction with a weary edge to them. They all knew _exactly_ who had walked into the store. He kept walking calmly to counter, not caring about the fact that all eyes were on him. When he got to the counter, which had a very nervous clerk behind it, he brought out his phone from back pocket, scrolled down until he found a picture he wanted.

“Could you please print this photo in sizes 6R and 16R? Also please install it into a simple frame. Could you make it quick as well?” he said politely to the staff. Yes, the hot-tempered Storm; Gokudera Hayato asked politely. He had learnt to control his temper in the years since they were teens to help Tsuna in mafia business, as his right-hand-man. It also helped to make people less nervous as well.

The scared staff member hurriedly took his phone to print the photo. Gokudera turned around and leaned back onto the counter. He waited patiently for his photo to be done. It had to be perfect and most importantly kept a secret.

He didn’t have to wait too long, the framed photos he had ordered were done in a few minutes. The staff gave him his order, wrapped in a cardboard box, shakily. Gokudera took it and re-checked the content. Satisfied, he paid the cashier then strolled out the shop. Meanwhile, shortly after he gone had the all staff members and customers in the shop sighed in relief, causing the two officers that had just walked into the store, missing Gokudera by seconds, to look at them in confusion.

Gokudera hurriedly back to Vongola mansion. At this hour Vongola mansion would be very quiet because of the siesta. Tsuna would also be in his office talking a short break from the paperwork. A perfect opportunity to hide his present. Opening the main entrance slowly so that no one will notice his return. He walked at a steady, slightly fast, pace to his room, being careful to move without sound. Hiding the present quickly, he then went out of the room. He’d think about how he’d be wrapping it later.

On his way back to Tsuna office, Gokudera was grinning like an idiot. His behavior made all maids and butlers who passed him raise their brows in silent, fond amusement. They knew that the Storm was only in such a good mood due to something that involved Decimo. If they had to guess, they’d guess that he’d finally found a good present to give to the brunette.

His good mood, was ruined the moment he opened a double doors that lead to his Sky’s office. Jade eyes widened at the state of the room, it was a complete mess; the paperwork was scattered, the windows wide open, it essentially looked like a fight had happened in the room. If his observation was correct, the windows had already been opened for very long time. However, he dismissed it as unimportant. The most important thing right now was where **_his_ ** Sky was and who in **_hell’s_ ** name would be _stupid_ enough to take him away from them?

* * *

**_\- Nairi’s Shop/11:10 AM /Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_**

* * *

‘ _What the heck!_ ’ Nairi thought while she was sweeping the shop’s floor. She was preparing to close the shop for her lunch and siesta but her mood crashed immediately after saw a certain blonde man in front of the shop with a big black car parked.

The man together with his companion walked into the shop. He waved his hand to greet her, “Yo! Ano… Kimura-san right?” he approached her. He didn’t even realize that she had an annoyed look on her face or the fact the she’d clenched her fist tightly on the broom. “I’m Dino, the one ordered the painting that was delivered Vongola mansion. I’ve come to pay for the painting, how much is it?” Dino asked bluntly.

‘ _You damn blonde! How dare you come at this hour and delay my time to enjoy my cream soup! Ha… calm down Nairi… calm down. He’s a customer. Treat him nice but **not** too nice._ ’ Her head lowered until her bangs covered her dark brown orbs. She tried to calm herself before she did something me would regret later.

“Uh… Kimura-san?” hearing the call Nairi snapped from her thoughts. She hurriedly took a notebook and a pen that was on the desk and wrote.

– I apologize for my rudeness Signore Dino, but you didn’t have to come at this hour. You could have come later in the evening. – She turned the note to let Dino read

The Bucking Bronco began to sweat when he looked at the note then at his watch. He smiled awkwardly to Nairi, “Haha… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your lunch and siesta. So… How much is it?” Dino asked about the price once again but this time in an awkward way.

– The painting costs about ₤1,500, together with the delivery fee it becomes ₤1,520. – The note said.

“Okay!” Dino chirruped. He reached into his inside pocket and pulled out his cheque book. He quickly wrote out the required amount with a tip and then signed the cheque. “Here you go, Kimura.” Dino said as he handed the cheque to Nairi who was smiling sweetly at him. In reality, she was trying to hold in her rage at being delayed further by the blond.

She accepted the cheque then bowed as a sign of thanks. Then unexpectedly, she turned and pushed both men out the door. When both of guests were fully out she slammed the door shut, hard.

Dino, shocked at what just happened, looked over his shoulder with a bewildered expression. It was to the point that one would think that Nairi had used mist flames to play with his mind, like Mukuro was so fond of doing. He opened his mouth to say something to his companion but was stopped by the ringing of his phone. He took a deep breath before answered the call,

“Pronto”

“…”

“Er… I… I… I can’t tell you Tsuna. Haha… I… Er…” Sweat began to drip down his face. He tried to find a out of his situation but failed, miserably.

“…”

“Sorry… But I really can’t tell you where I am right now.”

“…”

“Sorry, still can’t.” Dino was getting desperate, why, oh, why did Tsuna have choose to be so persistent today of all days!

“…”

“Wah! Don’t be like that. Okay! Okay! I’ll tell you! Just please don’t do that.” He said in a fast paced panicked voice. His face paling rapidly. Did his little brother **_even_ ** know how scary a threat those words were?! He did not, under any circumstance want to deal with _that_.

“…”

“Er… I am at… At… At the new café, it’s near Yamamoto’s area.”

“…”

“Ee… Okay, see you.” When he hanged up, he spent a few moments staring at the cell in his hand in shocked silence. Suddenly his face paled rapidly. This was not good the Kimura Art Shop was in Hibari’s district! The place he mentioned in his panic was in Yamamoto’s; the complete opposite direction of where he was! Cursing in rapid Italian, Dino knew he had to find a way to get to the café and fast. The café on the other side of town! Shivering in fear, Dino ordered Romario to step on the gas, and no he did not care for the traffic laws! If the police caught them he’d pay the fucking fine. What he was concerned about was getting to his destination on time! Why did he suddenly feel as if he’d just signed his own death warrant?

* * *

**_-Sector SW-80 /11:15AM – 1PM /Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_ **

* * *

In front of a large fountain, in an area that was known to Vongola as Sector SW-80 and the rest of the Underworld as _Terra della Pioggia Impietosa_ , one of the most dangerous parts of _Il Labirinto del Sangue_ , Tsuna was pacing back and forth. Something had kept bugging him ever since he called Dino.

Stopping his pacing, he reached for his cell, he might as well call his older brother figure and ask to meet in person so that he could figure out what was wrong. He didn’t know where Dino was so that’s have to be his first goal. He pressed the one of the many speed dial buttons programed into his cell. After some time it was answered.

“…”

“Pronto Dino-nii. Where are you now?” he asked with curiosity.

“…” to his displeasure the voice sounded nervous, very nervous. It’s rare for Dino to shuttering like that. Unless of course when was dealing with Reborn…Maybe that was it?

“Why not?” he pouted at the phone.

“…” again the other sound weird, as if the owner was in a state of panic.

“Please tell me, I want to have lunch with you, maybe catch up? I promise I’ll treat you to lunch!” Tsuna said sweetly.

“…” this time the other sounded sad.

“Fine! If you don’t want to tell me I’ll just tell Takeshi and get him to take me out instead” Tsuna said angrily, with a pout. He had enough with this. If Dino didn’t want to tell him, he wouldn’t force him.

“…” _That_ got the reaction he wanted, though he really didn’t know **_why_ ** Takeshi was such an effective threat to either deter unwanted behaviour or to get the answers he wanted from people, his other Guardians he could understand, but to get such a reaction from just mentioning Takeshi? Oh Tsuna knew that his Rain wasn’t as kind and gentle as he appeared, nor was he exactly stable either; none of his Guardians were. After all **_Reborn_ ** had called his Rain a _Natural born Hitman_ . And Tsuna knew **_ exactly _ ** what it took for that. What he couldn’t understand was the inherent **_fear_ ** that people felt for his Rain. His Rain would never hurt anyone without a good reason, Tsuna knew this fact as if it was second nature, so why did others not?

“Okay, I won’t do it. Now tell me where you are now”

“…” as the other told him his location, his hyper intuition started bugging him even more than before, but Tsuna just shrugged it off. He believed that Dino won’t lie to him unless it was necessary.

“Oh… So you’re at that café? Perfect! I want to show you that café. Kay! See you there.” Tsuna chirped happily.

After hanged up from the call, Tsuna walked away from the fountain to the place where Dino told him to meet. Luckily, the café wasn’t every far from where he was.

The café was positioned near the seashore. It had a very homey feel to it; creamy walls, dark brown wooden floors, wooden chairs and tables. The tables were decorated with soft-natural toned table clothes. All windows were opened, white and cream coloured transparent curtains decorated with ocean themed embroidery hung from them as well. There was even a patio for those who’d like to relax and eat outside.

From the outside a cool ocean breeze blew through the open windows, making the curtains dance slightly. At one of tables outside the café a certain blonde man sat silently. His head lazily rested on one of his hands as he stared out into the ocean, while the other one was holding a white cup filled with a dark, near black liquid.

“Dino-nii!” a sudden shout behind his back shocked the blond from his restful state. Hands started flailing about to keep the contents of the cup from spilling. “Tsuna! Don’t scare me like that.” Dino’s head turned around, after making sure his drink was safe from spilling.

“You don’t have the right to complain about that. You made me nearly call Takeshi! ”Tsuna pouted angrily.

“Haha… Gomen.” Dino replied with awkward, nervous laugh. “By the way, what would you like to eat?” he asked as he flagged down the waitress.

“Hm… I guess I’ll have some tea and a molten chocolate cake with red currants. How about you Dino-nii?”

“I’ll have another espresso, please” The waitress repeated their order then went away. Tsuna blinked. Odd, Dino hardly ever drank espresso, he said it reminded him too much of their shared tor-tutor. Why would he be drinking it now? Frowning Tsuna studied Dino slightly, his intuition telling him that something was off with his older brother figure. He noted the exhausted look on the blonde’s features, the way he seemed to slouch slightly, and the slightly laboured breathing, as if he had ran all the way here.

Tsuna nodded to himself. It made perfect sense now. Dino must have had a long night as well. Most likely catching up on paperwork that he'd been putting off. ‘ _Though he doesn’t have as much as me,_ ’ the envious thought came as a dark cloud hung over the brunette. ‘ _No one has more than me..._ ’ Sighing Tsuna pushed the dark thoughts out, he was here for a break and to catch up with Dino. Mostly for the break though.

“Ah!… Finally I can have some rest from those devilish papers.” Tsuna said while stretching his body and ignoring the image of the towering stacks he had back at the mansion. He was away from that prison. No need to think about it until later on! Absentmindedly he gave Dino a smile of fondness and annoyance as the blond laughed at his plight

“Hahaha… But that’s your responsibility as the boss.” Dino snickered at his beloved little brother an odd glint of amused fondness in his eyes

“Like you’re the one who talk,” Tsuna grumbles half-heartedly as the blond continued to laugh in between sips of his espresso.

‘ _Those must have been some stacks of paperwork for Dino-nii to be this tired!_ ’ came the amazed thought as he watched his older brother figure sip at his caffeine filled cup. He wondered what number cup this was, after all Dino _did_ say **another** cup…

Sometime later the ordered tea came as well as the espresso. Tsuna smiled at the waitress, unknowing of the blush on the waitress’s face or the sudden dark look on Dino’s face. She put down the cup and teapot on the table then left quickly after the glare Dino had sent her way. “Hm… you know what Dino-nii. I am still curious about the package that the girl delivered to us yesterday.” Tsuna spoke after taking a sip of his tea.

“You haven’t opened it?” Dino asked with raised eyebrows.

“Of course I haven’t what if it explodes, beside Reborn would kill me if I did!” Tsuna pouted. His arms now folded in front of his chest. Coincidently, his ordered cake came at that exact moment, causing the waitress to blush even more and Dino to glare at the woman in irritation. The cake looked so delicious with white refined sugar on top of it, along with the cherry sauce around the cake. He savored the taste of cake little by little. Tsuna was so distracted he didn’t notice that the waitress had fled in fear of the dark aura around Dino, which disappeared the moment the waitress was gone.

“…wise decision...” Dino said in low voice.

“Do you say something Dino-nii?” Tsuna asked, tilting his head in confusion. Once again the brunette didn’t realize his actions were the cause of several blushes from the surrounding customers.

“Nothing.” Dino muttered as he took a sip of the coffee to hide his blush. Both of young men chatted for some time. They didn’t know the cafe had been filled with many wol-women who were watching from afar. Some grouped and giggled while watching, others looking away red as tomatoes, and some passed out from massive nosebleeds. Both however were aware of the undercover cops watching them that were mixed in with the crowd. After all it wasn’t every day that two Dons of some of the most famous mafia families were out and about without either their men, in Dino’s case, or Guardians, in Tsuna’s.

They were in their own world to the extent that most assumed them to be unaware of their surrounding environment. Suddenly, however, Dino stood up from his chair, “Excuse me Tsuna, I need to go to toilet. Be right back.” Then he went to the back of the café.

A while later Dino came back, along with another cup of espresso. ‘ _Whoa! Another! Dino-nii must be really tired._ ’ Came Tsuna’s shocked observation. “You must be really tired Dino-nii.” Tsuna said when Dino sat down.

“Yeah, you can say that.” Dino said as he took a sip from the new cup.

After they chatted for the next hour and a half. As it neared 1 PM Tsuna said his farewell to Dino and took off, he’d go for a walk before heading back home. Leaving Dino with his espresso alone at the table. After Tsuna was gone from view, Dino let out a sigh of relief, as he did so the crowd suddenly swelled up and covered his figure for a few short moments. When the crowd dispersed, to the shock and horror of the undercover cops, it wasn’t Don Chiavarone that was seated. It was a man in a black suit, a fedora with an orange ribbon a top his head, causing his features to be shadowed.

What the hell happened?! The cops were horrified. They had only heard rumors of this man; the top assassin in the Mafia, Don Vongola’s advisor. None knew his real name, just his codename; Reborn. If he was here they knew that **something** was up. Horrified realization struck them. Cursing in rapid Italian, all the cops scattered to report to their superiors the exact events that they had observed, even if they weren’t exactly sure as to what was going on.

Reborn smirked as he quietly observed the panicked and horrified cops. Let them piece together this little puzzle. They’d never figure it out. They were missing too many pieces, and by the time they’d have it all it’d be too late. Finishing his espresso, the Mafia’s top assassin stood up, left some money to pay for his drink and a nice tip, and then walked of in the opposite direction that his favourite Dame student had run off to. All the while muttering about a _biondo idiota_ ex-student who needed more training.

* * *

  ** _Outside Vongola HQ /1PM – 3:40PM /Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_**

* * *

His heart throbbed wildly as sweat started rolling from forehead to his chin then dropped on to the floor, His breath came in pants, and both legs burned, but he kept running. He had gone to every room, every corner, and every single possible place he thought his boss could be.

This was the third time he had checked the whole mansion. He had been searching since he returned to Tsuna’s office, which was hours ago. The messed room that absolutely made emerald eyes almost popped out from its sockets. He had asked every maid and butler in the mansion along with the chefs and gardeners, even Soichi and Spanner, but still found nothing.

“JYUUDAIME! WHERE ARE YOU?!” he shouted while running along an empty hallway. Both hands were cupped around his mouth to make his voice louder in hopes that his Sky would hear him. Then at the end of the hallway he found Giannini. “Giannini!” he hurried to the mechanic. When he was in front of the man, he grabbed Giannini’s collar and brought him up to the same level as his eyes. “Do you know where Jyuudaime is?” he asked in eerily quiet tone.

“G-go-gomenasai Gokudera-san… I-I don’t know.” His body was quivered in fear, even his voice had a wobble to it. He, like anyone in the Underworld, knew that the Guardians tended to get very violent and unstable, very fast if they didn’t see their boss at least once a week if they were on long term missions (in the cases of some even a week was pushing it).

“Che. You better help me find Jyuudaime.” Gokudera said in annoyance as he dropped Giannini on the floor.

“But… but… I was finishing a… project.” Unfortunately for Giannini, his voice didn’t reach Gokudera who kept running out of the mansion.

Outside the mansion, the panic stricken Gokudera continued his searching with his phone online to inform every guardian and Reborn that Tsuna was missing. He also told them that he had searched the entire mansion but didn’t find him anywhere. At the news the line went dead multiple times, as each Guardian took in the news and headed back to the Mansion.

At last he arrived in the section of the city that surrounded Vongola HQ, known to the Underworld as the centre of _Il Labirinto del Sangue_ ; the Garden or _Il Giardino_. Anxiety, upset, and horror mixed together in his heart. Every time he checked any of the places where his boss frequented but didn’t find him, his heart beat faster in pain and worry; afraid of the bad things that could be happening to his beloved boss.

His panic clouded mind made him unable to focus on his surroundings. So he accidentally collided into someone. He managed to stay upright but the figure fell on her butt. Her bags together with its contents scattered on the ground. Her ink bottle shattered into pieces, making the ink inside the bottle spill and stain her clothes. Not even caring for his victim he growled, “Watch where you are going woman!” he said rudely. Then he stomped away angrily. 

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

  **Translations (in Order of Appearance):**

 _Il Sangue Fenice:_ the Bloody Phoenix

 _Il Labirinto del Sangue:_ The Bloody Labyrinth

 _Foresta di Fiori Selvaggi:_ Forest of the Savage Blossoms ( Alt. Forest of Wild Flowers)

 _biondo idiota:_ blond idiot

 _Il Giardino:_ The Garden


	5. Ordered Chaos and Explanations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I sometimes have a tendency to walk on the dark side." ~J. K. Rowling
> 
> “Wrong answer. Let’s try this again, hm?~”
> 
> “Now do me a favour. _Scream._ ” 
> 
> As a treasure is perceived lost, the plans of mice and men begin to untangle. Monsters, long put to slumber after the crowing of the King, awaken. The carmine scars made by threads of a time now gone start to bleed anew...Will the price of one life be enough to sate the demon laying at the foot of the throne?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **PLEASE READ THE NOTE IN THE END. THERE IS IMPORTANT INFORMATION IN IT. THANK YOU.**

**Sychi: Hello!! Ahahaha.. Please don't kill us, we had technical problem here. Let's see, where were we last time? If you forget try to see the last part of Chapter 4. Eii... this chapie will be darker than before, so, we want to know which is the scariest scene in this chapie, tell us after you done ^^**  

**Some people almost kill me for not updating for one year, hahaha.. so sorry!!! Hope you like this long chapter. Your turn Kaito-san...**

**_Kaito: Right, you lot can blame me for the lateness. My mac crashed and burned on me after nearly 7 years. The result was lost and corrupted files followed by an email problem that was only resolved by me using my school email. Hopefully, this fixes it. This chapter is a little disconcerting for those who don't like explicit mentions of blood or any implications of unstable mental states._ **

* * *

  **Legend:**

-Blah-: Written word

_‘Blah’: Thoughts_

“Blah”: Talking

 **-~-~-~-**   **:**   _Flashback (beginning and end)_

* * *

**_ Silence 5 : Ordered Chaos and  Explanations _ **

* * *

**_ -Outside  Cavallone Mansion/North Palermo/1:20PM – 3PM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy- _ **

* * *

Dino Cavallone let loose a yawn as he climbed the steps that led to the front doors of the mansion. He was a bit puzzled. His cell had rung around 2 hours ago, with his secretary on the other side informing him that he was to drop everything and head over to his office as one of the potential clients for Retuerta Incorporated, one of the many legal businesses and covers he held, had finally agreed to the contract that he had proposed. The meeting was a long and tedious one, but it was well worth the effort. It was also just his luck, as it gave him the perfect excuse to get out of the lunch date with Tsuna. His little brother was pretty understanding too, telling him that they could always reschedule. He had happily agreed. 

As he stepped into the entry of the mansion, he noticed something strange. It was long past lunchtime, but the mansion was quiet. _Too quiet_. Usually, someone; butlers, maids or his family members, would be shuffling about or waiting in front of the door to welcome him. It was very odd, though it could just be the fact that they are all busy with the preparations for the party that was to be held in two days time. Shrugging it off, Dino continued on his way to his office followed by Romario. 

Arriving in front of the large double doors of his office, Dino turned around to his Right Hand, “Romario you can take a break. If you need anything I will be in my office.” Nodding the black haired man left, closing the door behind him. 

Inside the office, Dino flung himself into the couch in a very inelegant manner. Stretching out in a haphazard manner he let loose a sigh of relief and grinned as his gaze flickered to the table across from the couch, a luxurious lunch was placed on it. Humming to himself, he picked up a spoon and fork intending to fill his stomach. He had eaten very little during the meeting and was starved. However, just before he could take a bite; he was stopped by the sound of a gun’s safety being clicked off behind his head. 

He gulped nervously. There’s only one person capable of slipping into his mansion undetected so easily and he did not like the feeling of anger in _that demon’s_ flames. This will not bode well. He hoped he makes it out of this alive, in one piece, and sane. “Good afternoon, Reborn.” Even if his voice had a slight tremble, he **_needed_** to break the silence. He had learned long ago that _silence_ in Reborn, combined with anger or any intense negative emotion, was an omen of ill fortune to any that it was targeted at and the immediate area. 

Dino cursed his luck internally when the gun’s owner didn’t respond to his greeting. Slowly he turned to face the hitman. He tried to ignore the intense, malicious killing intent that sensually curled around him, slowly getting heavier and darker as it started to constrict, slowly blocking his ability to breathe and function pass anything but the instinctive need to **run** , and run _far_. “W-what brings you here Reborn?” he stuttered out as he pushed passed his instincts; steeling himself to face the wrath of the sinister being wrapped in threatening shadows. 

“Oh, you don’t know?” The hitman’s tone was calm and even, however, the killing intent covering his being belied his true feelings“Well, either way, you will pay for it, Dino.” The hitman said, his voice taking on a dark undertone. He pushed his black gun deeper into the blonde head, which made his ex-student stand up hurriedly and back away, as much as both the room and Reborn would allow. 

“Huh? W-what did I do?” Dino said nervously, arms raised palms up in the universal sign of surrender. He slowly moved to the side of the desk to prepare for the worst, all the while hoping that the hitman would _allow_ him (yes, _allow_ , he was well aware that Reborn could kill him faster than he could even _think_ about escaping or fighting back) to escape.  

“You have a brain Dame-Dino. Use it.” The tone was harsher than before. With narrowed eyes he fingered the trigger, contemplating where he would shoot first that would cause his idiot ex-student to use the mass of gray matter between his ears he called a brain and start remembering all his stupid mistakes that **he** had to fix just so that everything would stay on track. 

“Eh? What did I do wrong?” Dino said still confused, and getting very, very nervous as he looked at how Reborn was playing with the trigger of his gun _‘_ _oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, Reborn may actually shoot me!!!_ _’_  

“Why don’t you think a little, Bucking Bronco?” Reborn said, annoyance colouring his tone.  

“Um… Reborn, I really don’t know what you mean.” Dino said while his legs took one step back. 

“Oh… You still don’t know. Should I explain it to you, _Dame-Dino_?” sing-songing the end of his statement Reborn took a step toward his cowering ex-student. Instead of feeling relieved that he’d finally get an answer, Dino was suddenly overcome with an overwhelming sense of _danger_ _, predator_ _, run, flee, hide_ _!_ in the face of ex- tutor's tone and movement. Shivering in fear, he moved as far as possible from Reborn until his back was to the wall. 

“First, your recklessness combined with your inability to lie,” Reborn said as he took another step forward, his voice a dead monotone coloured with shadows. “Second, making Tsuna suspicious because of your foolishness coupled with said recklessness and lack of lying ability,” Reborn’s face reflected shadowed alleyways and a spider’s invisible web, he took one slow, deliberate step at a time towards where his idiotic ex-student cowered into the wall, by the time he was in front of him, the blonde was practically trying to become one with the wall itself. “Finally, me being forced to fix all of said mistakes my _studente idiota_.” At the end of his rant, not that _Reborn_ would ever admit it was a rant, he had his gun aimed at Dino’s forehead. “I think you need a revision in your training my dear Dame-Dino~” A grin filled with malicious intent spread on his face as the shadow cast by his hat darkened. “Why don’t we start now~ I ask a question and every wrong answer or unanswered question gets you shot hmm?~”  

“N-now wait a minute Reborn-” 

**BANG!**

Dino stared at the bullet embedded into the wall centimetres from his head. He twitched nervously. _‘_ _Oh fuck! He’s serious, that demon is actually serious about shooting me! I’m dead. Dead, dead, dead! As in D-E-A-D, dead!_ _’_  

“Wrong answer. Let’s try this again, hm?~”  

“S-sure Reborn” A nervous laugh 

A smug smirk enveloped in crimson shadows spread onto the hitman’s face.  

“Tell me, Dino. What did you do this morning and a few hours ago?” 

“Wh-what does tha-” 

**BANG! BANG!**

“Wrong answer.” Obsidian eyes stared down at brown. Not even paying any heed to the extra two bullets embedded into the wall that now kept the first company or the fact that the blonde’s flames were filled with a nervous fear that screamed _prey_ to the hitman. Just the way he liked it. 

“Th-this morning?” 

An eyebrow rose expectantly as the gun was once more leveled to his head. 

“W-WAIT! I w-was paying for Tsuna’s present!” 

“Well, what’d you know you do have a brain Idiot Dino. Now how about the other part of the question” A finger played with the trigger 

“A luncheon! It was a luncheon with a business I’ve been trying to get as a partner for over a year!” 

“Clearly your hair colour hasn’t yet started to eat at your brain I see.” An ominously amused smirk played on obscured features highlighted by crimson stained darkness. “Now then let’s see if I’ll need to lead you by your throat still. Hm?” 

“W-what?” Terrified brown eyes stared at the hitman and his gun in confused wariness. “What does any of that have to do with-” He stiffened, eyes widening in shock as several odd or _off_ details from the past few hours suddenly made sense. A disturbing, appalling blood-chilling sort of sense as he thought back to them.

 ** _-~-~-~-_**  

 ** _-_** ** _North Palermo/_** ** _11:20AM_** ** _/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_**  

**_-~-~-~-_ **

  _Dino was on his way to an important meeting that his secretary, Clarice Hampton, had just called to inform him on. Focusing on the road ahead, Romario could only sigh helplessly as he glanced at the rear-view mirror toward his boss who currently staring nervously at his phone as if it would come to life and eat him. It was not hard to guess what thoughts were running through the blonde’s head. Every single one was certainly about a certain Vongola Don’s reaction to him having to cancel his lunch with him. No one who met Tsunayoshi Sawada liked to disappoint him in any way. It was a very effective power that the brunette had no idea about. Not that it stopped Reborn and his allies from using it._

_“Agh! What am I supposed to do Romario?! What do I say to Tsuna?! What if he hates me?!” Dino wailed as his hands flew to his head in a frantic action, messing up the neatened locks. Romario sighed they’d have to fix that before the meeting somehow._

_“Just be honest boss, I’m sure Sawada-san will understand,” Romario replied, eyes still on the road ahead as he used one hand to steer and the other handed a comb to the frantic blond. Dino grabbed the comb and tried to tame his hair back to its previous state, all the while muttering about how his “precious little brother” would react and how “he would be heartbroken”. Romario let loose a sigh as he watched his boss fret and nearly work himself up again. Dino took a breath and let it out as a heavy sigh, as he unlocked his phone. Tsuna’s number was at the top of the list._

_He took one more breath to brace himself before pushing the call button. It didn’t take long, not even 3 rings before the phone was picked up. Dino blinked, that was strange, Tsuna didn’t normally pick his phone up that fast, he usually picked up after a few rings as he checked his caller ID before picking up. Dino shrugged his little brother must just be excited for the lunch they were supposed to have. The lunch he had to cancel. Oh, his poor little brother would be just heartbroken if he was this excited for it. “What’s up Dino-nii?” Tsuna asked his voice calm._

_It startled Dino a bit, Tsuna usually didn’t answer his phone so calmly, especially with people who he was close to. However, this was **Tsuna** , so he just shrugged it off and began, “Er… Tsuna, I think… I can’t….” _

_“Can’t?” Tsuna prompted, his tone patient, and oddly familiar to Dino; he’s heard it before from someone else... Dino shook his head to shrug off the thought and the slight alarm bells going off in his mind, he needed to finish his sentence._

_“IthinkIcan’tmakeittoourlunch,becauseIforgetthatIhaveimportantmeetingtoday.” Dino said hurriedly, his words slurring together. He prayed internally, full of hope that Tsuna wouldn’t hate him._

_“Oh? It’s okay Dino-nii, we could always arrange it anytime.” Tsuna assured._

_Dino blinked, had Tsuna actually managed to unscramble his rushed words? Dino blinked once more as a mixed feeling of hope and suspicion flared in his head. “Really?”_

_“Really Dino-nii. It’s just lunch, did you think I would do something horrible to you if you had to cancel due to important business?” Tsuna asked innocently._

_“Oh… okay, thank you, Tsuna.” With that, Dino sighed in relief and hanged up._

  **_-~-~-~-_ **

**_-North Palermo/11:35AM-1PM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_ **

**_-~-~-~-_ **

_A cover business is one easy way for The Mafia to hide itself from the government’s dogs while also keeping said dogs occupied with less worthwhile ventures so that they could continue to keep their more precious secrets. It was a delicate balancing act, one mistake, just one and their teetering tower of lies and half-truths would collapse. With its collapse, it would take with it the existence of their world and all its secrets. One mistake by an individual would lead to the destruction of Families and the very secrets they have kept hidden from the Aboveworld for centuries. Even a small miscalculation in a cover company’s dealings and those ravenous scavengers made up of dogs and vultures would swarm en masse to pick at the remains and spread their precious secrets everywhere. Several Families had already fallen due to their mistakes. Thankfully, they had been either small outer circle Families and thus did not have the prerogative that Families in the mid-tier, inner circle or those of the Council had or if they did have said prerogative they were smart enough to hide all evidence of it before they fell and the scavengers descended upon them. Within the Underworld, few Families had the unbroken reputation for successfully maneuvering the constantly changing and landmine filled avenue of cover businesses, of those few only one Family ranked within the Council of the Underworld_ _._

_Dino sighed from his seat at the end of the table, as he tapped his finger on the wood slightly in impatience.  He let loose a discontented sigh; a thought had been bothering him since the beginning of the meeting. The company that had agreed to meet with him today to negotiate a contract was a well-known one, if he got everything right his stocks would sharply increase. However if he got it wrong, both he and his company's mafia leanings would be blown wide open for the whole world to see and that? That was unacceptable._

_That combined with the company’s sudden agreement to negotiate was what bothered him. Why after over a year of talks and stalling would Newgate finally agree to a meeting now? When before all things were handled by his Vice President._

_“Is there something wrong, Mr. Cavallone?” the voice broke him out of his thoughts._

_“Nothing, please continue,” Dino answered in what his Family called his business voice. In front of him sat a quite fat man with chubby cheeks and blonde wavy hair, named Benedict D. Newgate, CEO of Far Seas Inc. Newgate had been presenting the contract that they would both sign. His Vice-President, Marco LaGuardia, the man with spiky blonde hair and narrow eyes, along with a lawyer named Edward A. Marshall, a creepy man that Dino did not like simply due to Marshall reminding him of both Daemon and Mukuro. With not-so-narrow-nor-big eyes and the shape of his chin, he could get any role in a horror movie._

_Nodding towards Dino, the older Italian man continued his speech, “As I was saying, we aren’t sure how smoothly the operation will go over, due to a few detail that has still not been resolved. However, I am sure that I can speak for both, Mr. Cavallone and myself when I say that we wish for this to be the start of a very fruitful business alliance”_

_“I agree” Dino smiled his business smile._

_From the other end of the table, LaGuardia gave a nod towards Marshall. The creepy looking man took a stack, which consisted of a map, a brochure, and the contract, and gave it to Dino. “We will hold an exhibition in 6 months to showcase some of the products that will come out of our joint line,” while Dino was reading the brochure, Newgate continued, “One of our employees from design will be sent over to collaborate with some of the staff in your design department. On the day of the exhibition,we will launch both a concept and a prototype of the car. If the exhibition goes well, the contract will then be fully finalized and the partnership sealed.” He finished with a confident tone and turned to look at Dino. “Are we agreed, Mr. Cavallone?”_

_“It’s a deal,” Dino answered while standing up from his seat together with Newgate to shake hands. He shrugged off all of his suspicions; this was a chance! One that came once in a lifetime. He would not miss it. With a handshake, both parties agreed on the trial period._

**_-~-~-~-_ **

Dino turned pale as frightened brown eyes stared blankly at the darkly satisfied hitman in front of him. Shuddering he let loose two words that explained his situation perfectly.

**_“Oh, crap”_ **

Suddenly Reborn’s phone rang. He picked the phone out of his pocket in annoyance, he was just about to get to the good part of this _lesson_ with his idiot ex-student, the part he enjoyed the most, but upon seeing the caller ID it faded into mildly confused interest. He pressed the answer button and immediately had to pull the device a good foot away from his ear as the panicked voice of Vongola’s Storm Guardian rang out.

A breath. A twitch. Then a sinister, deceptively soft voice cut into the loud, incomprehensible stream of panicked words.

 **“Gokudera. Hayato.”**

_Silence._  

“Now, that you’ve gotten a hold of yourself. _Explain_ , and make it quick I’m a bit busy _bonding_ with my idiot ex-student” The smooth and calm baritone the sentence was delivered in did little to hide the silent threat in the carefully chosen words of what would happen if the explanation was subpar, unimportant or delivered too slow. The gun that was still leveled straight at Dino, as a finger played with the trigger, succeeded even less in concealing the malevolent intent in what Reborn meant when he said bonding. It did, however, accomplish the job of quickening the Storm Guardian and preventing his idiot ex-student from escaping by freezing him to his spot.

“It’s terrible Reborn! It’s an outright sign of war! How they even-” 

“The **_point_**.”

 **_“Ah! Y-yes! Juudaime’s missing!”_ **  

* * *

  ** _-_** **_Il Labirinto del Sangue/3:20PM – 5PM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_**

* * *

Palermo’s once happy atmosphere of that morning was changed; engulfed in a cloud of dread and horror. Every member of the Underworld in the city cowered in fear and with each panicked encounter, the police got more curious and cautious. It wasn’t often that the entire Underworld of Palermo was so silent and cowed. All of it due to the two Vongola Guardians that scoured the city in a palpable dark mood. Yamamoto Takeshi, the Rain Guardian, walked along the street with a large Cheshire grin plastered on his face, his eyes, however, beheld the near supernova intensity of his anger. Hibari Kyoya, the Cloud Guardian, stalked the streets with a predatory aura, his steel eyes filled with bloodlust and a dark fire. Their killing intents clearly felt by the people around them.

They have been searching around the entire city since they had received the call from Gokudera about Tsuna being missing. Yamamoto asked each Underworld contact he met with a cheerful smile. However, only a fool or those unaware of the Underworld were lured in by his smile. There was entirely too many teeth involved to classify it as benign. All who crawled in the shadowed world knew that behind the mask of a cheerful and absentminded man lay a monstrous nightmare, a bird of prey that bore no quarter and had little qualms about ending a life in cold blood. It helped little that another monster stalked in his shadow.

Hibari Kyoya was a monster of another kind. While the Rain Guardian was like a raptor, the Cloud Guardian was something else, a shadowy creature that bore no form and lusted for blood and death. This nightmare was what faced all the spies found in the city and lurked in the shadow of the Rain Guardian’s path. While Yamamoto simply questioned all with a teeth-baring smile that was coloured with danger and bloodlust, Hibari took a more _direct_ route with his questions. A route that involved sating his bloodlust on all who refused to answer, and left a trail of bodies in his wake. An image belonging in the deepest pits of hell and lived up to the name of _Manticore dell'inferno_.

Something had stirred the **_horrors_** that called themselves the Tenth Generation of Vongola from their slumber. A shiver of dread echoed throughout the Underworld, from the lowest ranked to those who wore the scepter and crown. They all feared and cursed the fools who were suicidal enough to bring such nightmares out of their peaceful sleep.

Yes, Vongola was something to be truly feared.

In the end, the search turned out to be fruitless. Even when they _visited_ the nearest headquarters in the area and questioned the boss they found nothing. It was not for a lack of trying either.

The mansion’s hallway resembled a war zone, limp bodies covered in blood were scattered everywhere along the hall, and screams of agony heard echoing from deeper down the mansion. At the end of the hall behind a pair of broken mahogany doors, a person who looked to be the boss of the group was cowering in fear in front of both Guardians. His body was shivering like crazy, oddly reminding Yamamoto of a chihuahua. It was almost amusing to the Rain Guardian.

Hibari has been **patient** as they asked around the town, but now his last ounce of patience had worn thin. Narrowing his eyes, Hibari grabbed the man’s collar and slammed what he perceived as a pathetic bucket of lard that was standing between him and **_his sky_** to the wall, which made the man grunt in fear laced pain. “Answer my question herbivore,” Hibari bared his teeth in barely constrained anger and frustration. He hated to repeat himself, yet this _thing_ insisted upon forcing him to repeat his question for the past few minutes and he was fast losing both his last shred of patience and mercy. In fact, he was leaning more and more to just _forcing_ the answer out of the bucket of lard the longer the _thing_ took in answering his question and as a result keeping his from **_his sky_**.

“Hey, hey Hibari calm down,” Yamamoto held Hibari’s arm as he tried to calm the raven-haired man down. He too was fast approaching his last shred of patience however they couldn’t just _force_ the answers they wanted out of the man while still in his territory. There _were_ still appearances that need to be kept after all. That and Tsuna would not like it. That more than anything was what held them back.

“I-I-I c-can’t b-b-brea…” the boss tried to talk in vain.

“Hibari, we could just ask him without force.” Yamamoto reasoned reluctantly.

“Like I care.” Hibari shot him a dark look that showed the madness and lust for death that lurked in his eyes

“You have to.” Yamamoto reasoned once more, though he too wanted nothing more than to unleash his darker side on the pathetic man in front of them.

“Hn.”

Seeing that there was a chance that he wouldn’t be killed the boss gathered his courage and made a mistake that would cost him his life and the utter annihilation of his Family and allies “Bah! Just get out of here you bastards and find your damn boss. I am sure your stupid soft-hearted boss won’t like it if you kill me.” He mocked before the sentence turned into a scream of agony as a sword laced in blue flames ran through him and into the wall. Blood flew into the air and slowly ran down from the wall to the plush carpet of the room staining it vermillion.

“Oops!~ It looks like my hand _slipped_ ~” Yamamoto apologised in a cheerful sing-song manner, which oozed out false sincerity. Cold golden eyes, eerie in their resemblance to a raptor, stared at the man as blood slowly seeped out from his lips. The boss shivered internally as he stared at the man that didn’t even flinch as he nearly cut him in two. The Rain Guardian’s frigid eyes held caged madness and a horrific nightmare in them as he maintained eye contact with the man skewered on his sword. He held little regard for the fact that he was soaked in life-giving vermillion liquid that was not his own, in fact, he seemed to enjoy it, even revel in it to the point of getting near drunk on it.

“Aww~ Don’t go dying just yet Mister we still have a lot of time to play~” Yamamoto purred out in dark insanity. “Hibari hasn’t even gotten a turn yet~” He continued while letting out a giggle. 

“Now do me a favour. _Scream._ ” 

A tormented cry echoed into the night.

Few hours later the mansion was destroyed, swallowed by up by fierce flames that could not be quelled by anything. The flames incinerated all in its path, even the ashes of the once grand mansion. Both Guardians disappeared into the shadows like the nightmares they were. The only thing left behind as a warning to all in the Underworld was a single card, set aflame with Mist, Rain, and Cloud flames, with a snarling three-headed dog depicted on one side and the Vongola Crest on the other.

The Underworld held its collective breath in dread as news of the event spread throughout it. Two of the three members of _Cerberus_ had been unleashed; it wouldn’t be long until the third made its appearance and shortly after the rest of the horrors that Vongola kept behind its doors.

A storm was approaching and they could do nothing but pray that the monsters that lurked in its shadow wouldn’t set their eyes on them…

* * *

  ** _-Unknown Park/1PM – 4:30PM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_**

* * *

Opportunities like this was something he rarely got since he became Vongola Decimo. Tsuna had walked around the city of Palermo since lunchtime until this evening. It was rather relaxing and helped to destress him. Especially without certain white monsters that kept breeding just to haunt you in your office and dreams.

As he strolled towards his favorite park in Palermo, he noticed that the cheerful atmosphere of the morning was slowly changing. People seemed to be in a hurry as they walked the streets and didn’t linger too long in any one spot. Tsuna frowned; people rarely visited the path to his favourite public park by it did not account for the nervous energy. A cold wind welcomed him as he stepped into the park; he shivered slightly from the cold. It might have been the reason for the rush of the people; it seemed that a storm was on its way.

When he arrived at the playground, his eyes widen slightly to what he found. There at the swing sat the delivery girl he met yesterday. Expect today with clothes stained in ink and paint. By the look of her face, Tsuna thought something might have upset her.

Feeling sympathetic and wanting to cheer her up he walked towards the swing and stopped in front of the girl. “Do you need a push?” he offered kindly. The girl looked up shocked at her new familiar companion. Then she shook her head. Tsuna just smiled at her answer

He moved to take the other swing and sat but his eyes stayed on the girl, “So, we meet again Ms. Kimura” the girl replied with a nod as he started to swing. “This world sure is small, ne?” again, the girl’s only reply was a nod.

Tsuna stopped the swing; he still didn’t take his gaze off the girl at his side. “Did something happen?” for the third time she just nodded her head as a response. “What happened to your clothes?” he asked curiously. This time, she opened on of the only ink splatter free pages in the newly brought sketchbook, then wrote two words on. – Rough person. –

Blinked at the words, Tsuna hummed for a moment trying to understand what the meaning of the note was. “Hm… You mean… A rough person stained your clothes with… Er… Ink?” he tried to guess. She replied with a nod “And the person didn’t even say sorry to you?” again a correct guess. “And you’re angry about being pushed?”

Shocked, the girl suddenly turned to the brunette. Dark brown orbs stared directly into honey eyes. She broke the eye contact first. Her hand scribbled out a short question on the same page. – Why do you ask? –

“I don’t know. No reason really. Do you mind my question?” he replied with a grin on his face.

–Not really. I’m not angry about the clothes, but about my ink supply being wasted.– She pouted while showing the note to Tsuna.

“You are mad because of the ink?” Tsuna asked in confusion. The girl just answered with a nod. Then he bent his body forward as he tried to hold his laughter at the strange response. The girl seemed not to be happy with the young man’s reaction, which made her frown. “Ha… Sorry, I didn’t mean to make fun of you. Was the ink really important?”

She quickly wrote another answer to the question, and then showed it. – Of course, a small bottle of that ink was expensive. It was a quick dry one for sketching. –

“Sketching? Can I see, please?” Tsuna asked for permission in excitement. His eyes were shining just like a stray puppy’s that was pleading to be taken home and cuddled. Nairi just stared at Tsuna with amusement. Then she leant her ink-stained sketchbook to Tsuna.

“Whoa… Sugoi.” Tsuna already dumbfounded at a sketch on the first page. He became greatly amazed at each page he saw. Most of the sketches were everyday sights in the city of Palermo. Such as a ship at the harbor, pedestrians during a busy hour, trees and flowers in the park, people who were drinking and chatting at local café, etc. They were masterpieces with only ink splatter marring their canvas. Tsuna though thought that the ink splatters added character to the pictures.

When he turned back to Nairi, the girl had her back at him. Her shoulders were shaking. “Um… Ms. Kimura, are you okay?” he asked in worry as he patted her shoulder. A roar of silent laugh startled him. Nairi calmed down slightly realizing the confusion on her companion’s face. To make it clear, she pointed her finger to his face as her silent giggles continued. The brunette himself could only smile and follow suit, she reminded him of a kitten really.

They talked for a very long time about how she did all of the sketches, how often they came to the park, what they are doing for a living, some silly jokes were thrown in as well. They laughed so hard until they got stomachaches. It was the most fun evening walk Nairi ever had.

In the middle of their talk, Nairi and Tsuna suddenly smelled something that was burning. They looked out for the source then found black smoke rising high to the sky from the west. Two pairs of eyes were staring at the black smoke for a few minutes then simultaneously shrugged. ‘ _Someone must be having a barbeque_ ’ Both thought in slight jealously.

“Uwa… It’s already this late. I have to go back. It’s been nice talking to you Ms. Nairi” Tsuna quickly got up from his swing. She had insisted that he call her by her first name and he’d agreed if she did the same, though he still adding in the Miss to be polite. As he stood up and started to walk away, a tug at his suit halted his steps. Tsuna looked back to see the problem.

Nairi was holding tightly on the back of his suit, her face decorated with a big grin. In a second, Tsuna understood the unspoken question “Of course! I’ll see you next time.” As he said his farewell, he walked out of the park and towards home.

As he walked and finally started to enter the section of the city nearer to Vongola HQ he noticed something strange. Every time he accidently made eye contact with other citizens, they would avoid eye contact, some even pretended to have never seen him. When he got close to people, they quickly went away from him, as if there was some invisible force field around him.

Half way from Vongola HQ, he made eye contact with another person who was reading near a bookstore. Tsuna smiled a bit at the man, but the response was the opposite reaction from what he expected by now. The man startled and quickly hid his face with the book he’d been reading, the title of which caused Tsuna to choke slightly. He quickly walked past the man with his head down to cover his flushing face. Who in the world would read _porn_ of all things out in the open like that?!

* * *

  ** _-Il Giardino/Vongola HQ/5PM – 6PM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_ **

* * *

He arrived back at the mansion, but something wasn’t right. The mansion was noisier than usual. There was plenty of voices in there. Voices he recognised. He walked faster, opened the gate, then the main door.

As he opened the main door, he could see the guards were running around in a panic. Most of them shouted in hysteria-laced voices and some in outright fear. Tsuna closed the door, which caught the attention of all the guards in front him causing them to stop in shock.

“Decimo!”

“What happened here?” Tsuna asked in a serious tone. His good mood immediately vanished when he opened the door to the chaos in front of him.

After some minutes of stunned silence, one of the guards finally opened his mouth. “We thought that you were missing Sir. All Guardians together with Sir Reborn were searching for you around the town.” Tsuna’s eyes widen slightly but then came back to normal before all the guards could see.

“I was missing?” Tsuna furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “I am sure that I had told Giannini that I was going to have lunch with Dino-nii.” He explained. His arms folded in front of his chest. Right after the explanation all guards jaws dropped in shocked. “Could you please call all of them, including Reborn, to come back to the mansion and go to my office immediately?” He commanded while making his way to his office. The guards immediately did as they were told. Some of them clicked their tongue, annoyed at a certain technician and plotting revenge.

Tsuna didn’t have to wait long. Right after he took his seat at the office, the mahogany doors slammed open. As a barrage of people tumbled in, Tsuna could only stare in shock. Not only were his Guardians and Reborn in his office but also his friends and allies, he could even see Kawahira and the Varia in the group that were struggling to get through the doors.

“Tsuna! Where have you been?”

“Jyuudaime! I finally found you!”

“Tsuna-nii! Are you okay?”

“Bossu! Have you been hurt anywhere?”

“SAWADA! WHERE EXTREMELY WERE YOU ALL DAY!?”

“Omnivore.”

“Kufufu… Tsunayoshi.”

“Tsunayoshi-kun.”

“Tsuna-san!”

“Tsuna-kun! We were looking for you all day!”

“How Troublesome.”

“Idjit.”

“Scum.”

All of them swarmed Tsuna with many comments and question. With each comment or question, thrown his way and little time to respond given between them, the thinner Tsuna’s patience became. Tsuna’s eyebrow twitched in irritation as they continued to swarm him. He knew that they were worried about him, and he loved them all for it, but this was getting a little ridiculous.

“Everyone, please calm down. I’m fine, really.” He tried calming all of his friend worries but failed. All of them kept questioning him without a break in between.

“Everyone, please calm down, ” he said as he slammed his hands on his desk. In an instant, the room went silent “Thank you, everyone,” honey orbs turned back to its usual color. “I suppose I have an explanation to give, hm?”

**_-~-~-~-_ **

**_-Il Giardino/Vongola HQ /11AM - 11:05AM/Palermo/Sicily/Italy-_ **

**_-~-~-~-_ **

_Fleeing through the window was the fastest way to flee from the white demon spawn known as paperwork. The escape route he took ended in the garden at the back of Vongola mansion. From there onwards, he only had to take a slight detour to get to the front gate._

_Suddenly he remembered the last time he went missing without telling anyone. All his guardians and friends spent the entire day looking for him thinking that he’d been kidnapped or something. They made such a ruckus that to this day he still was unaware of the extent of the damage since all involved refused to say anything, in fact, they maintained that the entire incident **never happened**. _ _Not wanting a repeat, he quickly backtracked slightly in order to leave a note or at the very least tell a maid._

_Coincidently before he could return to his office, he saw Giannini through a window as he passed by. He quickly knocked the window to let Giannini known he was there. With a box in hand, Giannini looked out the window to find the source of the sound. He was dumbfounded when he saw the Decimo outside the mansion._

_Giannini put the box down then opened the window, “Decimo! what are you doing? Aren’t you supposed to be in your office?” he asked in a slight panic._

_“Well, I’m taking a break, Giannini. I’ll be out having lunch with Dino and maybe taking a short walk afterwards. Please tell everyone this. I really don’t want a repeat of last time. Thank you, Giannini!” Tsuna said hurriedly took off._

_“Okay, I will inform it to them!” Giannini called after Tsuna._

**_-~-~-~-_ **

“That’s why I said I already told you, Giannini,” After he finished his explanation, everyone went silent. “Now if you excuse me, I want to rest in my room.” Tsuna then walked out of his office leaving behind all of his allies and friends to assimilate the new information.

“Haha… I totally forgot about that.” An awkward laugh from Giannini snapped the rest out of their shock. All the occupants in the room glared at the said technician. His face became whiter and whiter as Tsuna’s explanation progressed. He glanced nervously at the gathered group. Surrounded by killing intent from hundreds professional killer and assassins as he was, it was little wonder that he hadn’t fainted yet.

“Uwah! I… I’m really sorry. I had to finish the project that… that… er… the CEDEF head gave to me by the end of the day. So… I… didn’t really pay attention to what Decimo said at the time.” He tried to explain himself nervously.

As he explained, Reborn’s obsidian eyes turned glacial, “So, because of that damn stupid project you let Tsuna go out alone with _absolutely no guard_ and almost face death?” the Hitman’s voice was as dead as a winter night in Antarctica causing the shadows in the room to seem to move and grow darker.

His statement froze the other occupants of the room. Slowly they all turned from glaring at Giannini to stare at him in trepidation “This afternoon, when Tsuna had lunch with Dino, who I was able to impersonate thanks to a tapped phone, an assassin tried to get a hit on him,” Reborn explained in a dead tone with shadowed eyes. The whole room stayed silent in horror and near hysteria “Don’t worry, I already took care of it, and imagine my _surprise_ that the one who was behind the scope was the same one who shot Tsuna in the old future. Unfortunately, I ended up making quite a mess during our short _chat_ ” with his explanation complete, and the ending laced with dark satisfaction, Reborn rose his head and his eyes were revealed to the room. The obsidian orbs shone with such **_raw_** lunacy and near fanatic bloodlust that everyone who saw it had little doubt as to why the man in front of them was so feared that to even an allusion to his name was considered taboo and invoked dread that caused whole Families to flee.

They may have been considered monsters by the Underworld, especially the Tenth Generation Guardians, but none of them came even close to the _behemoth_ that stared at them at this very moment.

Vongola may have horrors behind its doors, that some even called eldritch abominations but those in the Underworld truly had very little clue as to the _real_ demon that lay resting at the foot of the throne, ready to tear out throats and feast on any fool who dared to invade its territory and oust its chosen king.

A demon that remembered all too well the agony of losing its Sky, and grew **mad** from the anguish. One which pledged to prevent such a loss from happening again.

Should it fail in its vow, well…the world would look _beautiful_ painted in carmine and set a blaze in the orange of his Sky’s flame…

* * *

**TBC**

* * *

**Translations (in Order of Appearance):**

  _studente idiota:_ idiot student

 _Il Labirinto del Sangue_ : The Bloody Labyrinth

  _Manticore dell'inferno_ _:_ the Manticore of Hell

 _Il Giardino:_ The Garden

* * *

  **Sychi: Satisfied? well next chapter will took longer than this time, uni is starting!!!! NOOO!! MY GPA IS FALLING!! And please don't kill us, we had pretty much several business to be done. I will get this fanfic done no matter how long, until death tear us apart!!** **muahahhahahhaa... Sychi out!!**

**_Kaito: If you are all satisfied, I'll be going to work on my assignments now. Tell us how this goes, see if you catch any of the references and sorta cameos to other animes and fandoms. Later._  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Kaito:** Hello all. Sorry about the notification you got for Chapter 6. It's not actually up yet. Please ignore the message. Chapter 6 will be up after a short _hiatus_ on Sychi's end. She will still be working on it during that time, however, due to Real Life, it won't be consistent. As such _Listen to the Silence_ will be on break for about 3 months maximum. If there is any change or questions please, refer such inquiries to my Tumblr: [Nightmare in Wonderland](http://midnightkaito.tumblr.com/letters)
> 
> I am sorry about any confusion and inconvenience caused by it. Once again, I can not stress how apologetic I am about this. Thank you for your understanding and patience. I'll be sure to pass any question onto Sychi.


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